Old Enemies, New Friends
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: Post-series, my Pendulum Swings verse. Businessmen are being taken over by a mysterious force attempting to collect all the pieces of a statue of Reshef the Dark Being. Yugi and company must collect all the pieces first, while dealing with real Duel Monsters, Rare Hunters, and the reappearance of Gansley's estranged son, on the run from the Rare Hunters.
1. Chapter 1

**Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Old Enemies, New Friends**

**By Lucky_Ladybug**

**Notes: The characters from the show are not mine. The other characters and the story are! This is part of my post-series **_**Pendulum Swings**_** timeline, which redeems Yami Bakura and the Big Five. There are some brief but important references to the stories **_**An Eye for an Eye**_**, **_**Static Code Analysis**_**, and **_**Among the Ashes. **_**And I embrace the dub's localization of setting Domino City in America.**

**Chapter One**

Gansley sighed as he stepped outside to his porch and sank down on the swing. It was a peaceful evening; indeed, things had been very peaceful and pleasant since they had all returned to Domino City after their trip to New Orleans. Why was it, then, that he felt so uneasy? The calm before the storm, perhaps, but honestly, couldn't they have a genuinely restful time for more than a few days?

He closed his eyes, letting his thoughts wander.

Things had never been restful for long while working for Gozaburo. He had pushed everyone to their limits and beyond. He had nearly driven Gansley to a heart attack, terrifying Crump and Lector when they had found him slumped over his desk.

Seto hadn't pushed them as much, but under his leadership most of their prior responsibilities had been taken away altogether. As far as they had all been concerned, he had lied to them and used them and then all but discarded them when they were of no further use to him.

Now they were their own bosses, working towards a goal of opening Crump's dream of a penguin preserve. Sometimes they still pushed themselves too much, but overall, they were moving at a slow but steady pace—when they were able to work on it at all. Disasters that involved them quite frequently interrupted their plans.

Maybe that was their just desserts, their penance, for the wrongs they had committed. That thought, however, did not make the near-death experiences and other torments easier to bear. They were trying to be good now, and all of them really wished the universe would let them be.

"Mr. Gansley?"

He started and opened his eyes at the unfamiliar voice. Then his cane slipped from his hand and clattered to the porch. "What on Earth?!"

He had assumed it was a neighbor talking to him. Instead, it was a Dark Magician Girl, who was standing on his lawn in the accompaniment of a Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"Hi," the Dark Magician Girl smiled, and waved at him.

"What is this?!" Gansley exclaimed. "Shouldn't you be talking to Yugi and the Pharaoh or Seto Kaiba?"

"We'll be talking to a lot of people in town," she replied. "But we wanted to make sure you also know that there's another magical calamity set to happen and we need your help."

"Ugh." Gansley sat up straight. "Are you sure I didn't simply doze off in the evening breeze?" He bent over to get his cane.

"We're real," she told him. "You and your friends accidentally set us all loose before."

"Yes, but didn't you all go back to your world then?" Gansley still wasn't sure he was actually having this conversation. He straightened, grasping the top of the cane tightly in his hand.

"Of course. You're not responsible for this." She stood holding her staff in both hands and watching him.

"Then who is?" Gansley grunted.

"You'll find out soon," she said. "But I'm afraid the problem is far worse than just a rift being torn open between our worlds again."

"It always is," Gansley said. He paused. "Look here. If you're really here, aren't you angry with us for all the chaos we caused the last time you were here?"

"You've changed, haven't you?" she answered.

"Yes," he said slowly.

"Then we're not mad," she said.

Blue Eyes roared, supposedly in agreement. Then they were both gone.

Gansley was left staring at the space where they had been, still not fully sure he was awake. "Ugh." He sank back, passing a hand over his face.

xxxx

Seto was overwhelmed and occupied, as usual. Work had been piling up while they had been in New Orleans to testify in court, and although he had done what he could remotely, there was still a great deal left to take care of now.

As if that wasn't bad enough, he had been having spells of dizziness and headaches ever since their return. At first he had thought it was from working himself too hard, but the longer it continued, the more he wasn't sure. He had even secretly seen one of his doctors about it, but the physician was baffled. There didn't seem to be any physical reason for it, so now he was left with having to believe it was emotionally induced.

Well, he had plenty of reasons to be given stress headaches, he supposed. Nothing ever calmed down for long, and he was always at the center of what was going wrong. Now that he had been given that magical charge of using the Light elemental ring, that was true now more than ever.

He took the ring off, setting it on the desk in front of him. He hated magic. He hated having to accept magic was real. And now he had to wield magic to help protect the world. Typical.

The doorbell suddenly rang, cutting into his thoughts. Before he could decide what to think of that, the phone rang as well. He growled in frustration as he reached for the receiver. Two more headaches to ask to the list.

"Mr. Kaiba?"

He started as Velma the maid appeared in the doorway. "What is it?" he frowned.

"There's someone at the door to see you," she told him. "A Mr. Peter Bracken?"

Seto raised an eyebrow. "I don't know such a person."

"He said you wouldn't know him, but he said you two have a mutual acquaintance," Velma replied. "Charles Gansley."

Seto rubbed his forehead. "Send him in."

Make that three more headaches.

xxxx

Bandit Keith Howard was angry, to say the least. After departing from Domino City with his Rare Hunters following their revenge scheme on their former boss, he had learned that Yami Marik had tricked him—Marik was still alive. But he hadn't wanted to impulsively plunge right back into town; that wasn't his way unless he was pushed to his limit. Anyway, he had other operations taking place in other towns. He had to focus on them for a while.

"Master?"

He looked up with a frown as Lumis entered the room. "Yeah, what is it?" he snapped.

"I regret to inform you that Umbra and I were unable to catch our nosy errand boy." Lumis was trying to appear smooth, but the fear in his eyes was obvious.

Keith snarled. "Oh great. He'll probably run off to the cops and tell them everything."

"We did learn one valuable piece of information," Lumis said hopefully. "He seemed to be heading for Domino City."

That definitely perked Keith up, although it didn't make sense to him. "Domino? Who does he know in Domino?"

"We don't know, Master," Lumis said, "but with your permission, we will go to Domino City and recapture him."

"Yeah," Keith said thoughtfully. "You do that. And who knows; maybe I'll come with you."

Lumis gulped. "To make sure we do it right?"

"Nah. I still have unfinished business there myself." Keith cracked his knuckles. "This time Marik Ishtar won't get away. And maybe this time, I'll try using a little psychological torture first, like that weird guy likes to do."

Lumis decided he didn't want to know more. "Very well, Master. I will inform Umbra that we are to leave on the next flight to Domino City." He scurried off.

Keith sneered in the darkness. Yeah. This time he would have his revenge. And he would pick up a would-be tattletale while he was at it. It was going to be a profitable trip.

xxxx

Bakura wasn't sure where Yami Bakura had gone that evening, but as he wandered downstairs he found his friend stretched out in the living room windowseat, petting a loudly purring Oreo stretched out next to him.

Bakura didn't try to hide his smile as he went closer. "Yami?"

Yami Bakura looked up. From his eyes, he had been lost in thought.

"Are you alright?" Bakura asked.

Yami Bakura grunted. "Something doesn't feel right," he said. "Something's going to go wrong somewhere in town; I can tell."

"Oh dear." Bakura sank into a chair. "Well, I suppose we'll be able to deal with it, but that's disturbing. I was hoping things would be quiet for a while."

"Are they ever?" Yami Bakura leaned back against the window. "Maybe something's going to go wrong with that other me."

"He's still in a coma from the Mind Crush, isn't he?" Bakura said. "I know people don't always go in a coma from that, but the Pharaoh used the strongest version of it, feeling he needed it." He smiled a bit, weakly. "And maybe it was also to protect us from him longer in case it didn't help. . . ."

Yami Bakura growled. "It's hard to say if he can or will change. And either way, I have no idea what we're going to do with him when he wakes up."

"If we knew how he got here, maybe we could send him back," Bakura said. "Well, if he's willing to make a change, at least. . . ."

"Either way, we can't allow him to cause more trouble for us," Yami Bakura said. "That should be our first priority."

"I suppose," Bakura said slowly.

"We don't owe anything to this other dimension." Yami Bakura frowned. "But that likely isn't how the leader of this little group is supposed to think, is it."

Bakura gave a sad sigh. "That's what this is about. . . ."

"I still can't believe it's true," Yami Bakura said. "I am a good leader, but not for a group of goody-two-shoes. It's nonsense!"

"Kasumi brought the Infinity Ring for you," Bakura said. "I'm pretty sure Heaven doesn't make mistakes . . . even if we don't always understand their reasoning," he added with a sigh. His eyes flickered, thoughts of his mother and Amane passing through his mind.

"Shadi wasn't in favor of it," Yami Bakura reminded him. "That was no doubt why."

"But Kasumi told you herself that you're doing well," Bakura reminded back.

"I know. And I suppose I have improved from where I started," Yami Bakura said. "But my core personality and attitudes don't always change."

"Maybe sometimes your viewpoint is needed and necessary," Bakura said. "At least, that's how I want to think of it. I know you have good insight sometimes."

"I also have a great deal of pride," Yami Bakura said. "Even if I regret something, I will very rarely express that regret."

"Are you still thinking about Nesbitt?" Bakura realized.

Yami Bakura looked away. "It's ridiculous. Normally it wouldn't bother me." Oreo whipped her tail around his wrist and he stared down at it.

"Well." Bakura smiled a bit. "Since it definitely is still bothering you, Yami, you should really do something about it."

"Like go tell him I'm sorry?" Yami Bakura grunted. "It would sound even more ridiculous after all this time."

"Maybe so, but clearly you won't be at peace until you do it," Bakura said with a smile of amusement. "As I told you, part of being a good leader is admitting when you're wrong."

Yami Bakura growled. "I know."

He kept petting Oreo.

xxxx

Yugi was enjoying the pleasant evening as he and Atem walked down the streets of downtown Domino. Nothing had gone amiss since their return from New Orleans, and he was willing to hope that maybe things would continue in that vein.

"Hey, there's Lector," he realized, pointing to their friend coming out of a store.

Atem looked over in some surprise. "Hello, Lector," he greeted.

"Hello," Lector said, and came over to them. "I see you two are by yourselves tonight?"

"As you also seem to be," Atem remarked.

"We're all going to Gansley's house," Lector said. "Each of us has been on a different assignment for the preparation of Crump's penguin sanctuary. . . . Well, I suppose the project belongs to all of us now," he amended.

"That's great," Yugi smiled.

Lector nodded. "Gansley stayed home to go online and look up different possible locations for it in the nearby area. Crump is off trying to find out the procedure for bringing in the penguins and Johnson is making sure all of our legal bases are covered. Nesbitt is looking at the prices of materials."

Atem glanced at the store Lector had just left. "And you're helping him?"

"That's right," Lector said. "If he found something he wanted to buy right away, he wanted someone with him to help load it into his truck. We've also been checking up on the prices of hiring construction crews to work under our directions."

"We're all looking forward to what you come up with," Yugi smiled. "You've been putting so much thought and work into this, I know it's going to be amazing!"

"Crump is certainly excited about it," Lector said, "and I suppose his enthusiasm is catching." He smiled a bit. "I have to say, it's nice to be our own bosses."

"I think that's the best option for all of you," Atem agreed. "You're free to do things your way."

"I agree." Lector looked down at his phone as it dinged with an incoming text. "Nesbitt needs me inside. If you'll excuse me . . ."

He started to turn to leave, but a sudden flash of light startled all of them. "What's this?!" Atem gasped.

They all stared as the light faded to reveal the Dark Magician Girl. "Hello, everyone," she smiled.

xxxx

Gansley had gone back in the house after dark, still bewildered by the encounter on the front lawn. He still wasn't sure he hadn't just dozed off and dreamed it. Maybe when the others arrived, he would try to casually ask them if any of them had seen something strange around town.

He perked up when the doorbell rang. That was surely them now. He was close to the door, so instead of bothering to wait for the maid, he walked over and opened it himself.

A young man in his thirties was standing there, holding a little girl of about four in his arms while a boy perhaps a year or two older stood on the porch next to them.

Gansley quirked an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

"I don't know," was the reply, and then, "but we wanted to see you . . . Dad."

Gansley went sheet-white. "Peter?" he gasped. He looked more closely at the man. There _was_ a certain family resemblance in the face, and the boy at his side looked so much like Peter the last time Gansley had seen him. . . .

A nod. "It's me. These are my kids . . . your grandchildren," Peter said. "Amber and Charlie."

"You named the boy after me?" Gansley looked to the boy, who looked right back.

"You're our grandpa?" Charlie asked.

"Yes," Gansley said, feeling overwhelmed and in disbelief. "It seems so." He looked to Peter and the quiet Amber, who was studying him thoughtfully.

". . . May we come in?" Peter asked.

Gansley snapped to. "Oh. Of course." He held the door wider. The little family entered and he shut the door after them. "What's going on, Peter? Why have you waited years to see me and suddenly come back now?"

"Don't you like us?" Charlie frowned.

". . . Of course I like you," Gansley said awkwardly. He really was out of practice in dealing with kids. "I just wonder why I haven't seen your father until now. I've missed him very much. I tried so many times to find him and his siblings."

Peter set Amber down and sighed. "It's a long story. And while I really do want to reunite with you, Dad, I have to say that I also came here hoping it would be a safe place for the kids for a while."

"What? Why do they need a safe place?! What's going on here?!" Gansley's voice was gaining an edge.

Peter sighed again. "My wife and I are divorced and I have custody of the kids," he explained. "But I got into some trouble. I thought I was running errands for a legit place, but I found out it was really a nest of Rare Hunters. Er . . . do you know what those are?"

"Unfortunately," Gansley sighed.

"Well, so now I know too much and they're after me. I'm going to figure out how to beat them," Peter vowed. "But since Mom changed our names, I'm hoping they won't connect you with me and the kids'll be safe."

"You think they'll be safe with a ruthless old businessman?" Gansley said with a slight smirk.

"I think so," Peter insisted. "Especially since I did a little research on you and I know you have four friends you love and consider to be your family. I'm not afraid for the kids to get to know you. And . . . I want to know you too."

"I'm . . . very happy I have the chance," Gansley said, his voice catching in his throat. He had wanted this for so long. . . . "Come sit down and we'll talk."

Peter looked around the entryway and the living room. "This isn't the same house we lived in, is it?"

"No, it's bigger," Gansley grunted.

"Mom said you probably didn't live in the same house," Peter said. "You were always wanting to move up in the world. But it wasn't too hard to find you. I decided to come to the fanciest neighborhood in town. And . . . I also asked your ex-boss."

"Seto Kaiba?" Gansley said in disbelief.

"Well, I'd heard you'd buried the hatchet with him," Peter said. "And I knew he wouldn't be intimidated by Rare Hunters; he's actively fought against them. I told him to forget I'd been there and he said it was already forgotten."

"I see," Gansley said.

Amber tilted her head, looking at him. "Why do you use that?" She pointed at his cane.

"Amber!" Peter scolded in dismay.

"I just want to make sure he's not hurt," Amber said with wide eyes.

Gansley smiled a bit, touched. "My knees have given me trouble for years. But I'm alright." He waited for them to sit and then sat on the nearest couch. "I've just learned to live with it."

"Why does Grandma hate you?" Amber wondered. She slid over near him. "You're nice. She should like you."

Gansley looked to Peter. "She still hates me?" he said in chagrin.

Peter looked awkward. "When I told her what I was going to do, she was upset and said I shouldn't expose the kids to your business practices. She said you'd only see them as 'good investment returns' or something like that. She said she'd done everything possible to keep you from learning about us and them and she wanted it to stay that way. I told her it had been over thirty years and it wasn't like you were actually dangerous, like the Rare Hunters are. I felt that bringing the kids to you was their safest option."

Gansley's eyes flickered with guilt. Peter certainly couldn't have known it, but he _had_ been dangerous when lost in his anger and fear and hate. But those times were past. Indeed, he wasn't dangerous now—at least, certainly not to those who didn't deserve it.

"I don't suppose she was pacified at all," he said at last.

"She said 'There are other ways someone can be dangerous.' And I know that's true, but I fear the Rare Hunters more than I fear anything you might teach the kids. Anyway, I was willing to take the chance that you might have changed."

"And I have," Gansley said. "I won't teach them anything about being ruthless in business. But I might teach them about investments. And one of my friends might enjoy teaching them about budgeting and saving money. . . . If it's alright for them to know, of course. . . ." He hoped so; he really didn't want to have to keep anything from them, especially something of this magnitude. They had all been sympathetic about his family problems.

"All of that's fine," Peter said. "Those guys have become your family. I couldn't ask you to not tell them about us. Anyway, I'd like to meet them."

Gansley relaxed. "I know they'll all be happy to meet you."

Peter smiled. "I'll be happy to go back and tell Mom all about this when this is over. And . . ." He hesitated. "I hope we'll be able to stay in touch."

"I hope so as well," Gansley said. ". . . I do have to warn you, however, I haven't had any dealings with small children since she took you away. I'm quite out of practice. Not that I was ever very good at it to begin with."

"And I'm out of practice with having a dad," Peter said. "Mom never remarried. She wanted to prove she could make it without relying on anyone."

"Well," Gansley said, "I would say she succeeded."

"Yeah. She's quite a lady," Peter smiled.

"Where on Earth have you all been living, anyway?" Gansley demanded. "I looked everywhere!"

"Back East," Peter said. "Bethlehem, Pennsylvania."

"Beth- . . ." Gansley shook his head. "Was that chosen completely at random?"

"Mom thought it sounded like a neat place to live," Peter said. "She didn't want to pick any place she'd ever talked about with you, so she just got out all kinds of brochures and travel books and chose a place she knew she'd never mentioned that she thought she'd like."

"She always was a clever one," Gansley said. "I told her many times that she had the smarts to work in big business.

"And your siblings. Do they hate me too?"

Peter hesitated. "Well . . . I was the one most willing to give you another chance, but I wouldn't say any of them outright _hate_ you. One thing about Mom, she didn't like you, but she didn't try to villainize you either. She always told us you had your faults and you loved business way too much, but that you could be charming, even thoughtful sometimes."

"I'm surprised," Gansley said in amazement. "I've always thought she probably poisoned all of you against me."

"Nah," Peter smiled. He sobered. "We should have looked you up as soon as we were 18. I guess we didn't want to go against Mom's wishes."

"You're here now," Gansley said, "and that's more than I ever thought I would have."

"And I'd say the kids like you," Peter said. He looked to Amber, snuggling against Gansley, and Charlie, playing contentedly on the floor with a toy truck.

"Yes," Gansley said in surprise, slowly drawing an arm around Amber. "It would seem so." It was a strange feeling, but not a bad one.

Not bad at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Yugi, Atem, and Lector were all still staring at the Dark Magician Girl following her abrupt appearance on the sidewalk. It was Atem who found his voice first. "Are you the Dark Magician Girl who rules the Duel Monsters' dimension?" he asked.

"Yes," she smiled. "It's good to see you again, Master. And you, Yugi." She looked to Lector. "We've never met, but I spoke to your friend Mr. Gansley."

". . . And what did he think?" Lector asked, baffled and bowled-over that they were having this conversation.

"I don't think he ever fully believed it," she chuckled.

"I'm afraid I don't blame him," Lector said.

"Oh, she's definitely real," Yugi said. "We first met her when Dartz was trying to destroy the world."

"So what brings you here now?" Atem queried.

"Right now I'm here to let you know ahead of time that something is going to happen," she said. "The barrier between our worlds is going to be broken again."

"Uh oh," Yugi worried, his eyes even wider than usual.

"How will this happen?" Atem demanded.

"And how do you know it's going to happen?" Lector added, not looking convinced.

"There are those in my dimension who have foreseen it," she said. "But we're not sure how it happens, as the method is different each time one of us sees it."

The door to the hardware shop opened. "Lector, what's going on?" Nesbitt demanded. "Didn't you get my message that . . ." But he trailed off at the sight of the Dark Magician Girl.

"Yes, I did," Lector said, "but our . . . visitor arrived before I could get inside."

Nesbitt swore under his breath.

"Hello to you too," she greeted him. "All of you are going to be vitally important. Your other friends too."

"Vitally important with what?" Nesbitt countered.

"With correcting whatever is going to go wrong, I assume," Atem said.

"That's right," the Dark Magician Girl agreed. "I just wanted to give you a warning ahead of time so you can start preparing for when it happens."

"Well, thanks," Yugi said. "We can use it!"

"Are you going to speak with Mr. Kaiba too?" Lector wondered.

Suddenly she looked uneasy and awkward. "We'll see," she said vaguely. "And I'll see all of you later." With that, she vanished.

Nesbitt growled. "The last thing I want to think about is more things going wrong," he grumbled. "Especially to be told by a fantastical being that's apparently real!"

"I'm sure we all feel that way," Lector sighed. "At least about the thought of more trouble. But let's try to get our minds back on the current situation. What did you need?"

"I wanted you to help me lift the samples into the truck," Nesbitt said. "Crump said he wanted to see them in person before deciding, so I say we should just take them to Gansley's place and we'll all see them."

"That sounds good to me." Lector looked to Atem and Yugi. "I'll see you two later."

"Bye," Yugi said with a wave.

Nesbitt gave them a vague nod as they headed back inside.

"Boy, this sure sounds disturbing," Yugi worried. "Especially that they're not even sure how it happens!"

"In any case, I'm sure it isn't a good thing," Atem said. "It always seems to happen when someone does something they shouldn't or toys with powers too strong for them."

"Yeah." Yugi bit his lip. "And we don't even know how it's going to happen this time!"

"Whatever happens, we'll face it together," Atem promised. "And we'll have all of our friends by our side."

"That sure makes it awesome," Yugi said. "I just hope no one will get hurt. . . ."

Atem imagined someone likely would, although he didn't like to voice that when Yugi was already distressed. "Perhaps we'd better start rounding up the others so we can tell them about this," he said instead.

Yugi looked up in relief. "Good idea!"

They hurried off down the street.

xxxx

Nesbitt was still not in a good mood as he and Lector loaded the samples he was taking back to Gansley's house. "That figures that something insane would happen here again," he said in frustration. "Can't any of us ever catch a break?"

"Honestly, I'm not so sure I'm willing to believe something will go wrong just because some of the Duel Monsters have 'foreseen' it," Lector retorted. He helped Nesbitt lift a beam of wood into the flatbed. "The fact that they all see it happening differently says to me that it's equally possible it might not happen at all."

"That would be nice," Nesbitt grunted. "Honestly, I don't like having to accept that magic and the supernatural are real much more than Kaiba does."

"To be honest, I feel fairly similar," Lector said, "at least when it comes to the negative." He rested his arm on the beam and looked firmly at Nesbitt. "I have to say I'm thankful the positive side of the supernatural exists. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have any of you. You all would have stayed dead when Khu murdered you."

"I can't argue with that, I guess," Nesbitt said.

"For that matter, if not for the positive side, we might not even have spirits to carry on with," Lector said. "Some people don't believe in them, and I know you didn't. But now we all know they're real."

"Yeah." Nesbitt reached for the next beam and Lector moved to help him. "I'm definitely glad of that, even though it took some getting used to."

"Mr. Lector? Mr. Nesbitt?"

They both looked up with a start as Serenity walked over the parking lot towards them. A harried woman they didn't recognize was trailing behind her. "Serenity, slow down!" she called.

"It's alright, Mom! These are my friends!" Serenity called back.

Nesbitt stared at her. He wasn't sure he would ever get used to her kind heart and forgiving nature, after all he had done to her, Tristan, Duke, and others.

"Well, hello, Miss Wheeler," Lector greeted her.

Nesbitt gave a slow and uncertain nod. "Hello. . . ."

"What brings you here?" Lector asked.

"Mom and I are trying to find some stand-alone cupboards for the house," Serenity explained. "It's really weird how hard it is to find something so simple! We've been to all the nearby hardware stores and nobody has anything! We can't even find any at stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart! The closest we found is a big bookcase at K-Mart; we might have to get that and maybe Joey could make doors for it."

"He could do that?" Nesbitt said in surprise.

"I'm sure he could," Serenity smiled. "Or I know Bakura could; he does woodworking as a hobby. Of course, we'd pay him if he did that for us. . . ."

Mrs. Kawai caught up to them now. ". . . You men are Serenity's friends?" Doubt flickered in her eyes, as well as some concern. It just didn't seem usual for men in their forties to be friendly with teenage girls if everything was aboveboard.

Lector gave a slight bow. "Yes, we are. But please excuse us for keeping her; we realize you must be very busy."

Nesbitt grunted. He really wasn't sure what to say. That likely wouldn't help the matter, but he didn't know how to suddenly have better people skills. This entire situation bowled him over.

"I'm sure you guys are busy too," Serenity said. "I'll see you later!" She waved and started back towards her mother's car.

Mrs. Kawai was still warily studying Lector and Nesbitt. "I hope you men haven't been inconvenienced," she said at last. "Serenity just gets so enthusiastic sometimes. . . . Although it's nice to see her so involved; she was very quiet and withdrawn until she was reunited with Joseph."

"It's not an inconvenience at all," Lector said. "She really is our friend."

Nesbitt finally nodded. "Yes. . . ."

"Well, thank you for showing her friendship," Mrs. Kawai said. "If you'll both excuse me." She nodded to them and quickly walked to her car.

Nesbitt scowled. "I don't know that she really believes it." He reached for another beam.

Lector helped him. "I suppose it is strange to an outsider." He frowned. "I wanted to tell her about how you saved Serenity's life once, but then I wasn't sure how much she's been told about her children's adventures. I wasn't sure it was my place to say anything if she doesn't know."

"That's just as well." Nesbitt leaned back after they put the current beam into the truck. "We don't need to tell that story all around and make it look like I'm some kind of a hero." He looked away uncomfortably. "I was just trying to make up for some of the wrong I'd done to her before."

"I doubt you were thinking 'I'm going to save Serenity from a split-second fall to make up for the past,'" Lector remarked. "Everything happened so quickly. You just didn't want her to get hurt."

"You sound like Gansley," Nesbitt grunted. ". . . But you're right. In any case, let's just hurry and get this done and get over there."

Lector nodded. "Very well."

xxxx

Mokuba worriedly pushed open the door to Seto's home office. His brother had been working all day and showed no signs of stopping now that it was night. That wasn't unusual, but this time there was also the factor that he hadn't been feeling well all day. Of course he had tried to hide it, but Mokuba knew anyway. Indeed, as Mokuba looked into the room, Seto was slouched back in his chair, rubbing his forehead.

"Seto. . . ." Mokuba came farther into the room. "It's late. You should stop now and have dinner. . . ."

Seto glanced up. "I'll be done soon," he grunted.

"You've been saying that for the last two hours," Mokuba sighed. "It's hard to believe it anymore. . . ."

"I really mean it this time," Seto insisted. "Just a few more minutes. . . ."

Resigned, Mokuba turned to leave. "Okay."

Outside in the hall, he decided to call Marik. It only took a couple of rings before the Egyptian picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, Marik." Mokuba went and sat on the stairs. "How are things?"

"Alright. But it doesn't sound like the same can be said over there," Marik observed in concern.

"It's Seto," Mokuba said, as Marik was sure he would. They'd had this conversation more than once in the past. "I know he hasn't been feeling well lately. He's acted funny ever since we got back from New Orleans."

"That _was_ a stressful trip," Marik said.

"Yeah, I know. And Seto came back to a ton of work. He's been pushing himself to take care of it all." Mokuba frowned. "I'm sure seeing Gozaburo again really took a toll on him."

"It couldn't have been easy," Marik agreed.

"The last time Gozaburo popped up, we both had a lot of nightmares," Mokuba said. He sank against the banister. "But there's nothing I can say or do to get Seto to stop working and relax now. . . ."

"I could come and try to talk to him," Marik offered. "But by the time I could get over there, he might have decided to stop."

"I doubt it," Mokuba frowned.

"Alright, I'll come," Marik promised.

"Thanks, Marik." Feeling a little better, Mokuba leaned back to wait.

xxxx

Marik was unaware that he was being watched as he set out on his motorcycle to head for the Kaiba manor, but two robed figures stood in the darkness and observed his departure.

"Master Marik is looking well," Lumis remarked.

Umbra rolled his eyes. "He's not our master anymore, and good riddance! At least Bandit Keith doesn't try to take over our minds."

"That's an excellent point." Lumis shuddered. ". . . Although they're both obsessed with revenge when you stop to think about it. That is not an encouraging thing to have in common."

"True," Umbra conceded, "but I'm willing to put up with it. Especially since we haven't been negatively impacted by Bandit Keith's obsession as we were Marik's."

"I suppose," Lumis said. "Anyway, we shouldn't even be here. We're supposed to be looking for Bracken. Domino is a large city; he could be anywhere, doing anything!"

"Bandit Keith thought maybe he'd run to Marik, since Marik was the original founder of the Rare Hunters but is no longer interested in crime," Umbra said.

"But according to what our listening device picked up, he's just going to see Mokuba Kaiba," Lumis sighed. "We should try something else."

"Let's wait a little longer and see if Bracken shows up," Umbra replied.

Lumis wasn't happy, but he didn't protest.

xxxx

Meanwhile, the Big Four were converging on Gansley's house at last, bringing with them the day's results.

"We're all ready to go, legally," Johnson smiled.

"That's good," Lector said, pleased.

"Yeah, and once it's built, there should be plenty of penguins that need a new home," Crump said. "I hope Gansley's found a place that looks good!"

"He's probably found several," Nesbitt said. "You know how thorough and efficient he is."

They all started up the walkway to the porch.

". . . I wonder who's visiting," Lector said, eyeing the unfamiliar car in the driveway.

Nesbitt shrugged. "Somebody to talk to him about buying the land?"

"We'd all need to see it before talking about buying!" Crump retorted.

"Salesmen can be very persistent," Johnson said.

Arriving at the porch, Lector rang the doorbell while the others gathered around him.

Gansley was pleased when he opened the door and found them. "Good, you're all here," he greeted. "Come in." He stepped aside and held the door open wider.

The others all trouped into the entryway.

"Hey, whose car is that?" Crump asked.

"It's a rental car," Gansley said. "It belongs to my son."

"Your son?!" they all exclaimed in shock.

"He's come back?!" Lector echoed.

"Yes," Gansley smiled. "He's here with his two children." He shut the door after them.

Amber was already there, looking up at them. "You're Grandpa's friends?"

"That's right," Nesbitt said awkwardly.

"You're all in the picture he has in the living room," Amber said. She stared at Lector. "You're tall. . . ."

Lector dropped to one knee. "Is this better?"

Amber beamed. "Yeah." She came closer. "You don't sound like you're from here, or from Pennsylvania."

"I'm from New Orleans," Lector explained.

"So why did you want to come up here?" Amber wondered.

"I'd heard about a job opportunity I was interested in," Lector said. "Now I never want to leave Domino City."

"Because of the job?" Amber asked.

"Because of my friends," Lector said. "They're my family now."

"What happened to your family?" Amber wondered.

Suddenly Lector realized he had talked himself into a corner. Amber was far too young to understand such a problem as the disastrous falling-out he'd had with his family. This only proved again, as far as he was concerned, that he really wasn't any good at talking to children in general. Mokuba, wise beyond his years, was an exception.

Johnson quickly came to the rescue. "You're quite an inquisitive young lady," he said. "What do you hope to be when you grow up?"

"I don't know," Amber shrugged. "A lot of things. A pilot, an astronaut, a banana. . . ."

Gansley tried and failed to keep a straight face. "A banana?!"

"Yeah, like the song. 'Bananas in pajamas, coming down the stairs. . . .'" Amber twirled around and sat down hard on the floor to end her performance.

Amused, Johnson said, "You might also consider a lawyer. They ask a lot of questions, like you do."

"Lawyers put people in jail, don't they?" Amber said with wide eyes.

Johnson cringed a bit. ". . . They help," he said. "But they also try to fight for people who have been hurt."

"That's good." Amber plucked a piece of lint off the lacy edge of her pink dress and got up. "I could be a lawyer too!"

"I'm sure you could," Gansley said.

At that moment Peter came into the entryway with Charlie. "What's all the commotion out here?" he wondered.

Gansley looked to them. "My friends are here," he said, and introduced each in turn. "Amber seems to have already taken a liking to them."

"Well, that's great," Peter smiled. "I'm glad to meet all of you. I can tell you've made Dad very happy."

"That goes both ways," Nesbitt said.

Charlie looked up at him. "Grandpa says you make things," he said in awe. "Even Army tanks!"

"I used to," Nesbitt said. "Right now I'm designing a miniature submarine."

Charlie looked ready to levitate. "Cool!"

Peter chuckled. "You've made a friend for life," he told Nesbitt. "Charlie loves any kind of machine."

Nesbitt looked pleased. "Then we'll have a lot to talk about."

"Say, Dad," Peter suddenly said, "I've been wondering. Are my grandparents on your side of the family still alive? Mom didn't know and didn't want to find out."

"Yes, they are, actually," Gansley said. "I still talk with them and visit them."

Charlie looked puzzled. "But Daddy, if they're _your_ grandparents, what are they for us?"

"Great-grandparents, and not everyone is lucky enough to meet theirs," Peter said.

"I'll ask them to drop by tomorrow," Gansley offered.

"That would be great," Peter smiled.

Amber looked to Lector. "If you're all Grandpa's family, are they your great-grandparents too?"

"No, silly, they'd be these guys' parents," Charlie retorted.

Gansley awkwardly looked to the Big Four. "We never really discussed that. . . ."

"They like us, though," Crump chirped. When they had all met, Gansley's parents had commented on how happy they were that Gansley had them.

Gansley started to relax at Crump's attempt to diffuse the awkwardness of the situation. "They do indeed," he said with a gruff smile.

"Well," Peter said, "I know you guys have things to talk about regarding that project you're starting, so we'll just go to our rooms and let you talk. It was great meeting all of you."

Goodbyes were exchanged and Peter and his kids headed upstairs. When the Big Five were alone, Crump was the first to speak.

"So they all just showed up out of the blue wanting to see you again after not caring for years?"

Lector cringed at Crump's bluntness, although he had to admit he was confused too. Especially after his experiences with his family in New Orleans, estranged family suddenly wanting to reunite set off alarm bells in his mind.

Gansley, however, just sighed. "It isn't just a social visit." He walked over to the couch and sank down. "Peter has gotten into trouble with the Rare Hunters and hoped this could be a safehouse for the children while he tries to figure out how to get them off his back."

"I knew it," Crump scowled. "There'd have to be a catch."

Lector laid a hand on his shoulder. Crump's neglectful and greedy parents had been hurting him since childhood. "Do you think he's sincere about wanting to reunite with you?" he asked Gansley.

Gansley hesitated. "I believe so," he said. "But of course, I haven't seen Peter since he was around Charlie's age. I don't really know if he's the kind of person he appears to be."

"For your sake, I desperately hope he is," Lector said.

The others were certainly in agreement.

Gansley sat up straight. "Well, enough about that. Let's discuss our project. I found several pieces of land that might work."

Crump's eyes gleamed. "Great!"

Soon they were all trading stories of what they had learned that day and becoming caught up in their hopeful future. But always, in the backs of their minds, they worried what Gansley's family's visit was going to bring to him, and possibly to all of them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes: The Neo-Orichalcos events talked about happened in my story **_**Dragons at Dawn.**_

**Chapter Three**

Mokuba perked up at the sound of a motorcycle in the front yard. He ran out the door, wildly waving to greet Marik as he arrived. "Hi, Marik!" he called.

"Hello, my friend," Marik smiled. "Is your brother still working?"

"Yeah," Mokuba sighed. "And I know he's been feeling just awful."

"Well, I'll see if I can do anything about that." Marik came onto the porch and followed Mokuba into the house.

As Mokuba pushed open the door to Seto's home office, he rocked back in surprise. "Marik . . . I think Seto's asleep. . . ."

Raising an eyebrow, Marik walked in and over to where Seto had slumped forward over the laptop keyboard. He could see Seto was breathing, but he wasn't at all sure that Seto was merely asleep after what Mokuba had described about Seto overworking himself and feeling so miserable. Taking hold of Seto's shoulders with both hands, Marik pushed him back into the chair. Seto grunted, but didn't wake up.

Mokuba frowned. "Seto's a light sleeper. That should have woke him up. . . ."

"Well, maybe he just badly needed the rest," Marik said.

Mokuba bit his lip. "Or maybe he's really sick. . . ."

Marik felt Seto's forehead. "There's no fever. . . . Do you have any idea how bad his headaches have been, Mokuba?"

"Bad enough that he couldn't really hide them, like he usually tries to," Mokuba said softly.

Seto's eyes suddenly snapped open. For a moment he stared at both Mokuba and Marik like they were strangers. Then he held a hand to his head and grimaced, looking away.

Mokuba came closer. "Seto?"

"What." Seto sounded very flat and matter-of-fact, even cold.

A chill ran down Mokuba's spine. "Seto . . . we're worried about you," he pleaded.

Seto's eyes flickered, and a look of utter horror passed across his face. "Mokuba . . . I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"You should go to bed," Marik frowned. "Maybe even send for your doctor."

Seto stumbled out of the chair, still clutching a hand to his head. "That didn't help," he grunted.

Mokuba stared in shock. "You mean you actually went to the doctor?!"

Seto froze, realizing that information would only scare Mokuba worse. But it was too late to take it back now. ". . . Yes, I did," he admitted. "He couldn't find anything physically wrong with me."

Marik frowned more. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know what to do," Seto retorted.

"Well . . ." Mokuba bit his lip. "You've been under so much stress lately, Seto. . . . If you could just relax, maybe you'd feel better all over. . . ."

"I don't know how to relax," Seto pointed out.

Sadness filled Mokuba's eyes. "You used to," he said. "Before Gozaburo. . . . Even at the orphanage, you could just relax and enjoy life sometimes. . . ."

Seto paused at the doorway. "That was a lifetime ago." He walked out into the hall. "I'm going to see if Anna's made dinner yet."

"She has, Seto!" Mokuba called after him. "She's been keeping it warm for you. . . ."

Marik came up next to Mokuba and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I understand how your brother feels," he said quietly. "I couldn't relax either, after my innocence was gone."

"Yeah, but you figured out how to relax again," Mokuba said. "Seto still can't. And . . . I'm worried he never will. . . ."

Marik honestly couldn't offer comfort that someday Seto surely would. Marik had got past his demons, but it seemed that no matter what Seto did or what challenges he conquered, some of his demons always shadowed him.

"I wished so much that Lector had adopted us instead of Gozaburo," Mokuba spoke again. "I still do. But I know it's all pointless to think about it. . . ."

"It's hard not to think about pointless things sometimes," Marik said. "I often wonder what would have happened had I not been forced to get the Tombkeepers' Initiation . . . or if it hadn't driven me so mad that I created that demon. . . ." He sighed.

"Well . . ." Mokuba gave a weak smile. "You wanna stay for dinner?"

Marik smiled too. "Thank you, Mokuba. I will."

xxxx

Duke sighed as he pushed new Dungeon Dice Monsters starter packs farther back on the shelf. It had been a long day filled with customers, for which he was glad. But picking up after some of the rowdy customers was often an experience.

"You're worn-out too, huh?" came David's voice from behind him.

Duke nodded, seeing no real point in denying it. "I wonder how everyone else is doing."

"Well, they've been trying to include you more, so they probably haven't been doing anything too fun without you," David replied.

"Ha ha," Duke grunted. He turned, leaning against the shelf with an elbow. ". . . It's crazy to think it's been almost a year since that trouble with the Neo-Orichalcos. . . . So much has happened since then. . . ."

"No kidding," David said. "And you want to know something even crazier?"

"I'm not sure," Duke said, quirking an eyebrow.

"You know those businessmen we met at that dinner when the Neo-Orichalcos mess started?" David continued. "The ones from Jenova Corp?"

"I think so," Duke said.

"Well . . ." David suddenly whipped out a back issue of a gaming magazine. "Notice anything familiar?"

Duke leaned forward. ". . . Oh, come on," he objected. "That's getting too out there!"

"You see it too. I thought so." David stared at the cover picture. "The people from Jenova Corp look eerily like characters from the _Final Fantasy VII _games and movie. Not to mention, their names and the name of the company are also familiar to fans of the franchise."

Duke snorted. "Sephiroth, Cloud, and Zack are real and are working at a company they own in town. Sure. That's completely logical."

"Is it really any stranger than some of the stuff we've come through lately?" David countered. "Especially the knowledge that there are alternate dimensions with other versions of us in them?"

Duke sighed and shook his head. "It's hard to argue with that. Yeah, I guess nothing can top that weirdness. I can't believe I didn't make the connection with those businessmen before."

"Well, they do tend to keep to themselves, plus, there's been so much going on that needed your attention more than this," David said. "I only thought about it when I ran across this magazine today."

"Yeah. Maybe I'll look into it sometime, or bring it up to Yugi, but I guess as long as they're just minding their own business, I don't really care that much or feel any special need to violate it." Duke paused. "That Sephiroth . . . _did_ seem sane, right?"

"As far as I remember," David said.

"Then we're probably fine." Duke walked back towards the main counter.

The doors slid open at that moment, revealing a frantic Yugi and company. "Duke!" They stopped short, looking around the store.

"I'm sorry, were you expecting something else?" David cracked.

"Well . . ." Yugi looked embarrassed.

"We wondered if the Dark Magician Girl had dropped by here yet," Joey blurted.

Duke stared at him. "I think we would have noticed."

"Let's start over," Atem said. "The Dark Magician Girl who rules the Duel Monsters' dimension has been dropping in on people today to warn them of a magical disaster about to happen."

"I'm sick of magical disasters!" Joey moaned

"I'm sure we all are," Yugi sighed.

"Who all has she appeared to?" David asked.

"So far, Gansley and me, Atem, and Lector," Yugi said. "We've been telling everyone else."

"We still need to tell Mai and the Bakuras and the Kaiba brothers and the Ishtars," Téa said.

"Does Serenity know yet?" Duke frowned.

Joey messed up his hair. "I can't find where she and Mom are shopping!" he fretted. "I didn't like to call on the phone because Mom doesn't know about most of the weird stuff we deal with."

"She knew about the city being trapped in an augmented reality game last year," Duke pointed out, twirling a piece of hair around his finger.

"Yeah, and she sure wasn't happy," Joey retorted.

"Maybe they're through shopping and they're coming home now," Tristan said.

"I just hope that whatever this weirdness is, it doesn't start until I can talk to Serenity," Joey said.

"You know, your mom kind of deserves to know too," Tristan said.

Joey scowled. "I know. I just wish I could find a different way to break it to her."

"Is there really any gentle way to say 'Magic is going to cause everything to go wrong again'?" Duke rolled his eyes. "Just tell her."

"And then I'll have to say a fictional character told us!" Joey exclaimed. "Ugh! She'll think I've finally cracked!"

"Don't worry, Joey. I'm sure she knows you cracked years ago," Tristan smirked.

Joey fumed. "What?! You punk!"

Téa facepalmed. "I need some female friends."

"Do I qualify?"

Everyone looked up with a start. Mai was coming through the doorway, looking both amused and annoyed at the nonsense.

"Mai," Téa said in surprise. "We were just going to talk to you!"

"About the Dark Magician Girl? Trust me, hon, I already know." Mai folded her arms and leaned against the storefront window.

"So she went to you?" Duke blinked.

"Mmhmm. She said she wanted to be sure I was involved," Mai said.

"What?! So she didn't trust us to tell you?!" Joey cried.

"Maybe she was worried you'd want to protect me and keep me out of it," Mai replied, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

"Well . . ." Joey flushed. He couldn't deny he had felt that way many times and hadn't involved Mai in some of the chaos because of it.

"She also said she'd been sure to tell members of the Big Five," Mai said. "Funny how they've become so closely entwined with all of our adventures these days."

"Yeah, I guess," Tristan said. "I sure didn't know what to think of it at first, but it really seems like they're trustworthy. Even Nesbitt."

"It's funny," Mai mused. "I used to think I could never understand or forgive them after our first misadventure in virtual reality, or after that mess with Kaiba's augmented reality game. But the more I think about it, the more I do understand them and feel able to forgive them." She turned away. "After all, if anyone knows what it is to fight with their inner darkness, I do. More power to them for being able to overcome it."

"They've really done well," Téa agreed. "Even Crump. I never thought he could be a decent person."

"You're different when you're drowning in darkness," Mai said. "It doesn't bring out the true person.

"Well, enough of this, boys and girls. We need to be rounding up the rest of the gang, don't we?"

Yugi nodded. "Let's go check on the Bakuras and go from there!"

Tristan looked to Duke and David. "Are either of you guys coming?"

Duke glanced at the clock. "I guess we can break away." He walked around the shelves. "I can take some of you in my car."

Between Duke and Mai, there was room for everyone and they set out. They soon encountered the Bakuras coming the other direction in their van.

"Hello!" Bakura called, leaning on the window. "We just spoke with the Dark Magician Girl. I'm assuming some of you have too?"

"That's right," Atem said. "Do you know if the Ishtars and the Kaibas are aware of it yet?"

"I really couldn't say," Bakura said.

Yami Bakura stayed quiet. The visit had not put him in a good mood, to say the least. He barely had time to get used to one disaster and the peace following it before something else went wrong. At this rate, he would never have enough time to sit and think about his future the way he needed to.

Or thought he needed to. He leaned back against the driver's seat. All the calamities were giving him more hands-on experience, he supposed. But he also found more and more that he didn't think he was up to the apparent challenge of leading everyone. He couldn't really believe that book they had found, and yet . . . if it wasn't true, wouldn't Shadi have shown up to tell them?

Bah, who could say what Shadi might do. He might decide to just let Yami Bakura think it was true if he thought it might improve his character.

"Let's try the Ishtars next, then," Yugi said, cutting into his thoughts.

No one disagreed, so all the vehicles set out on their new course. Above them, the clouds started to gather thickly in the sky.

xxxx

Dinner at the Kaiba Manor was awkward and uneasy that evening. Seto continued to be in a bad mood and finally excused himself to go upstairs. Mokuba stared after him, then looked forlornly down at his plate. "I know something's really wrong. I just don't know what to do. . . ."

Marik sighed. "Maybe he just needs a good rest. Remember, the doctor couldn't find anything physically wrong."

Mokuba looked back up at him. "I want to believe that, but I keep feeling like there's something more to it. . . ."

Marik frowned. The Kaiba brothers were very close. If Mokuba felt there was more to it, then he was inclined to believe it. Rishid and Ishizu had always sensed when something was wrong with him. "I'll go talk to him," he determined.

Mokuba's eyes filled with gratitude. "Thanks, Marik."

Seto's bedroom door was closed when Marik got upstairs. He was about to knock when strange words reached his ears. It almost sounded like . . . chanting?

Definitely concerned now, he pushed open the door. Seto was standing at the window, his arms spread wide. He was definitely chanting, and in ancient Egyptian. As he spoke, the sky above cracked open and Duel Monsters started to emerge.

Horrified and in disbelief, Marik ran forward into the room. "Kaiba, wake up! You have to stop what you're doing now!"

Seto had already trailed off and was clutching at his forehead as he grit his teeth in pain. "I . . . won't use magic," he hissed. "Never!"

The sky closed up. Seto stumbled and fell backwards into Marik's arms.

"Kaiba, what happened?!" Marik cried. "Do you know what you just did?! Or said?!" He stared out the window in alarm. The Duel Monsters that had already entered this dimension hadn't returned before the hole closed. Now they were flying or floating through the sky, confused and bewildered by what had happened to them.

Seto looked up at Marik, his expression twisted in utter horror and repulsion. "Something was trying to take over my mind," he realized. "When I got up here, it seized control and made me start casting a spell to open the Duel Monsters' dimension!"

"That may be why you're having these headaches," Marik exclaimed. "This unknown force or person has been trying to take over your mind and you've been subconsciously resisting!"

Seto pushed himself upright, holding a hand to his head. "Well, what now?!" he burst out. "I'm not going to open the sky again, if I can help it! But those Duel Monsters didn't have enough brains to go back to their home!" He gaped as a Red Eyes Black Dragon soared past the window.

"We'll worry about that later," Marik said. "I'll call Ishizu and maybe she'll have some idea how to get them back without risking that person taking you over again." He frowned. "Do you have any idea who it was?"

"No, I don't," Seto scowled. "They didn't drop any clues to their identity."

"Seto!" Mokuba ran through the doorway into the room. "Are you okay?! I just saw a Thunder Kid looking in the kitchen window!"

Seto grimaced. "I don't know if I'm okay or not." He looked to Mokuba. "It's a long story."

Mokuba bit his lip. "It must be. . . ."

Marik left them to talk while he hurried into the hall to call Ishizu. He had better call the Pharaoh too, while he was at it, he decided. And probably Yami Bakura.

xxxx

The Big Five were still in the process of discussing Penguin World when the sky suddenly opened. They could only stare as several varieties of Duel Monsters emerged before the hole closed again. The Duel Monsters immediately started investigating their new home, flying into trees, climbing over cars, and greeting shocked people.

"What on Earth," Gansley said in disbelief. "I suppose this must be the magical calamity."

"Oh great!" Crump moaned. "Just when the timing couldn't be worse! We'll probably get blamed for this after what happened last time!"

"At least we know we're not responsible," Johnson said as a Toon Summoned Skull stuck out its tongue at him as it passed by the window. He frowned, adjusting his glasses. ". . . And I suppose we deserve any negative repercussions from this, considering what we did to Mr. Kaiba when he released _Duel Monster Days._"

Nesbitt folded his arms. "And we're expected to help stop it this time. Great."

Lector sighed. "If our rings work again, maybe it won't be too bad. . . ."

"Grandpa!" Amber yelled from upstairs. "There's monsters out the window!"

Gansley facepalmed. "Now how am I going to explain what happened to a four-year-old?!"

"None of us know what happened either," Nesbitt pointed out.

"No, but at least we know what they are and where they came from," Gansley said, "and to explain how we know . . . won't be pleasant."

". . . True," Nesbitt conceded.

"Grandpa!" Amber called again.

"Yes, I know, I know," Gansley sighed.

Peter appeared at the top of the stairs. "You don't sound surprised," he noted. "Has this happened before?"

"You could say that," Gansley said. "I'm afraid you may have picked a bad town to hide out in. Domino City is notorious for being a hot-bed of bizarre events."

"And here I hoped that was mostly rumor," Peter said with a weak smile.

"Are the monsters dangerous?!" Charlie demanded as he came up next to his father.

"That depends," Gansley said. "Some of them may be, but usually they seem to be fairly harmless."

Suddenly Nesbitt took a sharp intake of breath and turned away. Frowning in concern, Lector walked with him to the doorway of the kitchen. "What is it?"

"I don't know why I didn't think of this before," Nesbitt said. "Maybe because we were under so much stress at the time. But . . . the Five-Headed Dragon that we can summon from that dimension. . . . Do you think that's the same one we used when we took over the city? The one that I . . . ordered to torch the warehouse?"

". . . I suppose it is," Lector realized. "But it didn't seem to hold any animosity towards us when we summoned it to help us stop Dr. Raven and Evangeline."

"I guess I'll have to focus on that then," Nesbitt said. "But how could it not have animosity towards us, or me . . . unless it's a dangerous and sadistic creature and enjoyed inflicting damage?"

Lector shook his head. "I really don't know. Maybe it's just agreeable to doing whatever its masters want."

"Which is disturbing too, when you think about it," Nesbitt frowned.

"This whole situation is disturbing," Lector said. "And I wonder who in the world set those monsters free this time."

"And why the sky closed up so soon after it opened," Nesbitt added.

"I suppose we'll find out eventually," Lector said. But he couldn't say he was looking forward to it.

xxxx

Yugi's groups were still en route to the Ishtar home when the sky opened and briefly rained Duel Monsters. Everyone stared in shock. Mai and Duke had to quickly throw on their brakes.

"Oh no!" Téa cried. "This must be the magical calamity!"

"But who's causing it?!" Joey yelped, ducking as a Baby Dragon swooped past with a chirp.

"It could be any of the usual suspects," Tristan said, half-sarcastically. "Or maybe even someone new. The question is, what do we do now?"

"Stay on our present course," Yugi decided. "The Ishtars need to know what's happening now more than ever!"

"So do we," Yami Bakura growled.

"Oh dear," Bakura worried.

Oreo pawed at the window as Wall of Illusion flew past.

xxxx

Lumis and Umbra were still staking out the Ishtar home as the disaster struck. Lumis leaped back, stumbling into a tree and falling backwards to the ground to avoid the Herald of Creation swinging his staff. "Oh no! What's this?!"

"Bandit Keith didn't mention anything about summoning real monsters," Umbra exclaimed. He fumbled for his phone. "We need to call and alert him right away."

Lumis jumped back to his feet. "We need to get out of the line of fire right away!" A Hysteric Angel bounced off his back, knocking him into Umbra.

"Be more careful!" Umbra scolded. He fell backwards into a bush, taking Lumis with him. His legs flew up in the air.

"Why don't you be more careful?!" Lumis retorted.

While they were still in that awkward position, the sound of several cars turning onto the street gave them pause. The Ishtars were about to receive visitors.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Lumis and Umbra managed to scramble into the bush by the time the cars pulled up at the Ishtar home. They watched, staring through the branches as Yugi and the rest of his group got out of the cars.

"Oh no!" Lumis hissed. "The last thing we want to do is to meet any of them!"

"Then keep quiet and maybe they won't notice!" Umbra shot back.

Joey frowned as they started up the walkway to the porch. "Hey, guys? Did anyone else see that bush move?"

Tristan, Duke, and Yugi turned to look.

"It looks fine to me, Joey," Yugi said slowly, "but if you saw something, maybe there's a Duel Monster hiding in there."

"Yeah? Well, maybe we should find out!" Joey took several steps towards the bush in question. "Whatever it is, it might not be friendly! We don't want it bothering the Ishtars!"

"We're caught," Lumis scowled. "Let's try to sneak out the back way." Without waiting for Umbra's reply, he awkwardly turned and tried crawling out through the back of the bush. Doubting it would work but preferring that to being found, Umbra attempted to follow.

They both crawled right into Joey's shoes.

"Well, look what kind of Duel Monsters I turned up!" the Brooklyn boy announced, glowering at them both. "The robed freak kind!"

Atem stared. "Lumis and Umbra?!" He ran over. "What on Earth are the two of you doing here?!"

The Rare Hunters were stumbling to their feet by now, knowing the jig was up. "We were . . . checking up on our old master," Lumis said.

"Yeah? Why? So you could beat his brains in?" Joey was definitely not impressed. "We like the guy now. You know we'd have to stop you."

"We didn't mean him any harm," Umbra exclaimed. "We're honestly not after him this time!"

"You expect us to believe that?" Joey shot back. "Especially after what your new boss pulled on him last time?!"

"Joey has an excellent point," Atem frowned. "You had both best explain yourselves more satisfactorily."

"We can't!" Lumis cried. "We're telling the truth!"

"What's going on out here?"

Everyone looked up as Ishizu and Rishid stepped onto the porch, both bewildered and upset at the sight of Rare Hunters on the front lawn. Ishizu was gripping the railing.

"You know what I think?" Duke was saying. "We should call the police right now. There's all kinds of outstanding charges out against any Rare Hunters."

Rishid started down the steps, his eyes dark and determined. Lumis and Umbra backed up in terror.

"Rishid! Hi! It's good to see you again!" Lumis rambled, stumbling into Umbra. "How are you?"

Instead of answering, Rishid came and silently towered over them both, more menacing than if he had spoken.

It was Umbra who finally crumbled. "We're really not after you!" he said. "We're looking for an errand boy and we thought he might visit Marik if he wanted help getting out!"

"Umbra!" Lumis squealed. "Bandit Keith is going to be furious!"

"Oh yeah?" Joey glared at them too. "Well, if some errand boy wants out, I say it's our duty to help him! Who is this kid?"

"He hasn't shown up, so it's obvious he's not planning to," Lumis retorted, still trying to salvage their mission.

Rishid continued to glower. "Ishizu, please call the police."

Ishizu smiled. "I already have."

Lumis shrank back. "Bandit Keith won't want to pay our bail money," he moaned. "Especially when we haven't succeeded in our task!"

"You should've thought of that before you committed a crime, you little creep," Joey sneered.

Soon the police arrived and were all too happy to cart Lumis and Umbra away. The others watched, relieved and yet concerned at the same time. Rare Hunters in town were never a good thing, and if Bandit Keith was around, he might try doing more than catching some errand boy.

"Well, now what?" Yugi sighed.

"We still need to go to the Kaiba mansion," Atem said. "And we should probably check on the Big Five and see how they're doing now that Duel Monsters have entered this realm."

"Maybe we should split up," Mai suggested. "Some of us will check on the Big Five and some of us will go straight to Kaiba's."

"Works for me," Joey shrugged.

"Kuri!"

Everyone jumped. A Kuriboh was floating through the air towards the group. Not sure whether to snuggle Yugi or Atem, he finally decided to get in between them and snuggle both.

Yugi chuckled. "Hey, Kuriboh!" He patted the affectionate Duel Monster and Kuriboh closed his eyes in bliss.

Atem still found the cuddling awkward, but he tried to give the creature a pat as well. "Well . . . it looks like we'll have one more companion for the trip," he remarked.

Kuriboh bounced enthusiastically.

xxxx

Gansley and the others had tried to get back to their planning session in spite of the arrival of the Duel Monsters, but their minds were wandering. When the doorbell rang again, Gansley got up to answer.

The last thing he was expecting to see was Atem with a Kuriboh. And Kuriboh was clearly not expecting to see him. As soon as Gansley had the door open, the little furball gave a shriek of "Kuriiii!" and launched himself directly at Gansley's chest. Shocked, Gansley fell backwards on the floor.

"No, Kuriboh!" Atem exclaimed. "Gansley is not the enemy anymore!"

Kuriboh looked doubtful. "Kuri?"

"Gansley!" Crump cried in shock. He and the rest rushed over to help him. Gansley sank against them, shaken and stunned.

"What did you do that for?!" Nesbitt snapped at Kuriboh. "Gansley didn't do anything to you!"

"Kuri!" Kuriboh retorted.

Gansley held a shaking hand to his throbbing chest. "Don't tell me that's somehow the same Kuriboh you had in our duel," he snorted. "That Kuriboh wasn't even real!"

"Kuri," Kuriboh scowled.

"We were all real," Atem said. "Why couldn't the spirit of the real Kuriboh have been with me back then?"

"Hmph," Gansley grunted.

"I'm sorry, I honestly didn't stop to think that he might attack you," Atem said. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Gansley grumbled. He got to his feet with the others' help. "Here's a question. How did he recognize me in my true form before I'd even said a word?"

"I . . . really don't know," Atem confessed.

"Kuri," Kuriboh shrugged.

"And he's not even sorry, is he?" Gansley scowled.

"Are you sorry for all the insults you flung at him?" Atem calmly returned. "Or the way you treated me?"

"I am sorry for what I did to you," Gansley said. "As for Kuriboh . . . well, I have to admit he's more formidable than he initially appears."

"Kuri," said Kuriboh.

"I don't think he's satisfied," Atem said. "You're going to have to prove yourself to him."

"Prove myself to that floating fuzzball?" Gansley retorted. "And just how does he expect me to do that? By getting myself killed for you?"

"Kuri!" chirped Kuriboh.

"Wishful thinking," Gansley snapped. "I don't intend on getting myself killed for anyone."

"You'd better not," Nesbitt interjected.

"Kuri?" Kuriboh hovered over to a framed picture of the Big Five Gansley had placed on an end table.

"No, not for them either," Gansley said. "Yes, it's noble and self-sacrificing, but did you ever stop to think how those left behind would feel? I already did that to them once, and I have no intention of doing it again."

"Kuriiii," chirred Kuriboh.

"I'm not sure whether he understands or not," Atem said.

"I don't have to have his approval," Gansley scowled.

Atem sighed. "Well, anyway, this certainly got off to a bad start. I came by to see how you were all doing after Duel Monsters fell out of the sky."

"We were doing just fine until Kuriboh decided to slam into me like an oversized, hairy basketball," Gansley grunted.

"I'm sorry," Atem said. "We'd better go. Be careful if any wayward Duel Monsters show up."

"I do appreciate your concern," Gansley said. "Ta-ta."

Atem quickly retreated. Kuriboh gave Gansley one last glare and followed.

". . . Well, that's not something that happens every day," Crump remarked.

"Let's hope it doesn't happen again." Gansley went over to the couch and sank into it. "When the Dark Magician Girl wasn't angry at me earlier, I let my guard down."

"Perfectly understandable, but now we know that we'll have to be prepared in case any of the group's other Duel Monsters still hate us," Lector sighed.

Nesbitt collapsed into a chair and covered his face with his hands. If any Duel Monsters would hate them, he was sure that Tristan's, Serenity's, and Duke's would all hate him.

"I wonder if the Dark Magician Girl still hates me," Crump remarked. "I'm the one who faced off against her. Gansley didn't meet her."

"Actually, you faced off against Miss Gardner's Dark Magician Girl," Lector pointed out. "I'm assuming it was the Pharaoh's that Gansley met."

". . . Okay, now that's just confusing," Crump grunted.

Gansley shrugged. "It makes sense that each individual copy of a Duel Monsters card would have its own personality. After all, there couldn't be just one Dark Magician Girl spirit when thousands of people have her card."

"Then I guess I've still got something to worry about," Crump said in chagrin.

"Probably," Nesbitt said.

"And I'm sure Joseph's cards hate me," Johnson shuddered. "I hope the Flame Swordsman won't immediately try to skewer me if we meet."

Lector wearily patted him on the shoulder. "We won't let him."

"And I'll have to explain to Peter and the children about the past, if it comes up," Gansley sighed. "They're just feeling good about me; I hate to possibly destroy that."

"Does it matter what you were?" Nesbitt grunted. "I mean, it matters, but do they have to know? It doesn't affect them, not when you've changed."

"That's just the problem, though," Gansley retorted. "What if it does affect them? What if all of the Pharaoh's other Duel Monsters hate me and some of them might even decide to launch an attack on the house?"

"I don't think they'd do that," Crump objected. "Kuriboh just attacked you out of a split-second impulse. He didn't plan it."

"If he knew the Pharaoh was coming here, maybe he did," Gansley pointed out.

No one knew what to say to that.

xxxx

Marik was very tense when the group's cars started to pull up outside the Kaiba mansion. He hurried onto the porch, not really surprised to see Yugi, Téa, and others coming up the walkway. "Hello, everyone," he greeted.

"Hi, Marik," Yugi said. "How's everything over here?"

"It's . . ." Marik trailed off. "I tried to call you, Yugi, but I didn't get an answer. I tried to call Ishizu, too."

"What?" Yugi took out his phone. "Oh. I'm sorry, Marik. . . . I didn't even hear this come in. . . ."

"We were nabbing a couple of Rare Hunter freaks staking out your house!" Joey blurted.

Marik went stiff. "What?!"

"Lumis and Umbra," Rishid said as he came forward. "Apparently they're searching for a missing errand boy and thought he might come to us."

"The police have arrested them," Ishizu said, "but I fear they'll be out soon."

"Unless Bandit Keith doesn't wanna spring them, like Lumis worried," Joey said. "So, what's happening here? Anything? I'm sure Kaiba is bent out of shape about more magic happening."

"You could say that." Uneasy and uncomfortable, Marik looked back towards the house. "Let's go inside."

Everyone trouped in and Marik shut the doors after them. Yugi gave him a worried look. "What's wrong, Marik? Kaiba isn't hurt, is he?"

"I . . ." Marik ran a hand through his hair. "I don't even know how to answer that."

"Marik, what on Earth's going on?!" Téa burst out in alarm.

"It was my fault."

Everyone looked up with a jerk. Seto was standing at the top of the stairs, gripping the banister. At his side, Mokuba looked at the point of tears.

"What?!" Joey ran forward. "What the heck do you mean, 'it was your fault'?! You opened the sky and made Duel Monsters come out?!"

"Yes!" Seto spat. "I did it."

"No, you didn't, big brother!" Mokuba wailed. "You couldn't help it!" He grabbed Seto's hand. "It wasn't you!"

A cold feeling took hold of Yugi's heart. "Something did it _through_ you, Kaiba?" he realized in horror.

"If you want to put it that way." Seto came down the steps, refusing to meet any of their eyes. "Something took control of me and I don't know what or who it was."

"Whatever it was, it knows ancient Egyptian," Marik said quietly.

"Oh no," Téa whispered. She stared at Seto. She had been with him the time that Crump had tried to possess him when he was still a wandering spirit. That had been a horrible experience for both of them, but this was arguably even worse—not knowing who it was and knowing that it had caused a disaster to happen through controlling Seto's hapless body.

Joey was still in shock. "Kaiba was possessed?!"

"Or mind-controlled. Either way, it's horrible," Marik said.

"But we're gonna figure it out!" Mokuba said. "We have to!"

Seto walked past all of them and towards his home office. "Until then, I'm a danger to all of you. Who knows what else this other presence is capable of! I'll have to seal myself off to try to keep it contained."

"Seto, no!" Mokuba ran after him. "If you're all alone, that'll make it worse! You were alone when it took control!"

"It's probably always here regardless," Seto said. "As Marik speculated, it may be responsible for the headaches I've been having." He paused at the doorway and looked back at the stunned group. "Well? At least some of you probably find this hilarious, don't you? The fact that I of all people am responsible for a magical disaster?"

"Of course not," Téa said in disbelief.

"This isn't any laughing matter, Kaiba," Joey frowned. "This is serious!"

"It sure is. And I'm going to do whatever I have to in order to ensure that it won't happen again." Seto looked to Mokuba. "Don't try to follow me, kid. Stay with Marik until this blows over." He slammed the door of his office.

Mokuba stood stock-still for a long moment. Then he snapped to and ran forward, banging on the door with both fists. "Seto! Seto, don't do this! Big brother, please!"

"What's the deal?" Joey stared at the door. "Isn't he just gonna stay in that room?"

"There's an outside door in there," Mokuba tearfully explained. "Seto's leaving the house. I know he is!"

"That's crazy!" Joey boomed. He ran over and pounded on the door. "Hey! Kaiba, open up! You can't just go running off like this! You've got your brother all heartbroken here! Plus, that thing might take control of you again for sure! _Kaiba!_"

"He's probably already run outside," Yugi said. "Let's not waste time here. Let's go outside and try to catch him before he gets away!" He ran for the front door.

Everyone else chased after him.

"What would he even try to get away in?" Tristan wondered. "Aren't all the cars up front?"

"There's other stuff he can use," Mokuba said. "Like the helicopter. . . ."

As if on cue, a helicopter motor started up when they got outside. Mokuba tore past everyone else, running around to the extensive backyard. But the copter was already lifting off.

"Oh no," Yugi exclaimed.

"That fool," Marik said under his breath.

"Seto!" Mokuba screamed. "Don't do this, Seto! It's not gonna help! Please. . . ." He fell to his knees in despair. "Come back. . . ."

Marik dropped down next to him. "It's not hopeless, Mokuba. Isn't there a way to track the helicopter's course?"

"Y-Yeah. . . ." Mokuba slowly looked up. "But Seto probably has a way to turn it off. . . ."

"We'll try anyway," Marik said firmly. "And you must have some idea where he might go."

"We have that cabin in the canyons," Mokuba said. "But Seto would know we'd probably think of going there, so he might not. . . ."

"I doubt he's thinking much at all right now," Tristan said darkly.

"This can't be easy for him," Yugi said. "Kaiba has always hated magic and the supernatural, and now he's the vessel for some unknown danger. . . ." He bit his lip. "He must be terrified. . . ."

"Terrified? Him?" Joey snorted. "He's just being his usual prideful self. He even thought we'd all be laughing at him because of this."

"That's not pride, Joey," Mai said. "That's insecurity." She folded her arms. "He's still so new to the idea of having friends who care about him unconditionally, and especially after he's done nothing but mocked magic in the past, he thinks it's only logical that we would find the irony in this mess hilarious. He can't fully bring himself to trust all of us in this situation . . . or maybe he's so afraid of losing us, or worse, hurting us, that he's pushing all of us away."

Joey stared at her. "You sure know a lot about Kaiba all of a sudden, Mai."

"I don't know him. I know the feelings," Mai corrected.

"Well, let's start trying to track him!" Téa cried.

Mokuba nodded. "We'll try the supercomputer downstairs. She should be able to track him, if he hasn't turned it off."

"And if he has?" Tristan wondered.

"Then . . ." Mokuba looked down. "I don't know. . . ."

Marik hugged him close. "We'll find him," he promised. "And we'll also get to the bottom of who is doing this to him."

"And hopefully before anything else goes wrong," Joey muttered.

xxxx

Seto gripped the helicopter's controls as he rose higher in the sky. Down below, he could see Mokuba and the others running over, but he quickly looked away. He couldn't bear to hurt Mokuba anymore, but he would rather hurt him this way than to expose him to whatever dangerous force was trying to seize control.

_You won't beat me,_ he vowed in his mind. _I don't know who you are or what you want, but you're not gonna get it._

"_Are you sure, Seto Kaiba?"_ an unfamiliar voice whispered in his ear. _"What if part of what I wanted was for you to run away?"_

"I'm not running away!" Seto spat out loud. "I'm protecting my brother . . . and everyone else I care about. . . ." He gripped the lever tighter, his knuckles white.

"_We'll see,"_ the voice laughed.

Seto clenched his teeth. He wasn't even sure if he was really hearing anything or if he was so shaken up that he was inventing a voice to go with the force. "Who are you?" he snarled, just in case it was real.

He didn't receive a reply, but somehow that didn't make him feel any better.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes: Gabrielle Valesquez is a police officer character I created many years ago.**

**Chapter Five**

_Mokuba had never experienced a worse day in his life. Seto had accused him of being the traitor leaking information about the planned takeover to Gozaburo. Nothing had hurt worse than that, not even being hit and thrown to the wall and then the floor. Now he had been completely locked out of the room, and no matter how he desperately pounded on the door and pleaded to be let back in, he was ignored. Finally he sank to his knees, shaking._

"_Seto, why?" he whispered. "How could you think I'd ever hurt you?"_

_He sobbed, helpless. Without Seto . . . or their caretaker . . . there was nowhere else for him to even go . . . except to Gozaburo. . . ._

_He bit his lip. Gozaburo had mostly ignored him, which was better than the treatment he gave Seto, but Mokuba hated to think of having to appeal to him for help. Still, what could he do? The only other person he thought had cared about him no doubt believed he was a traitor too._

_The door opened and he looked up with a start. Was it Seto? Was he going to say he was sorry and of course he knew Mokuba would never turn against him? Was he going to tell Mokuba to come back inside, that everything was alright now?_

_No. . . . Instead, it was the other person Mokuba had thought he could trust. He towered over the small boy, his expression unreadable._

"_Lector," Mokuba said softly. "I swear I didn't do this. Please . . . please believe me! I'd never turn my brother in! Never!"_

_Lector dropped to one knee, frowning as he studied the child. Mokuba had deduced some time ago that Lector didn't ordinarily like children, but he had thought they had a bond. Even in the room when Seto had assaulted Mokuba, Lector had been the only one who had not been able to watch. Maybe that wasn't because of any caring on his part, but Mokuba liked to think so._

"_If you didn't do it, Mokuba, then who did?" Lector quietly asked._

"_I don't know," Mokuba sobbed. "I really don't know! Maybe Hobson found out somehow. . . ."_

_Lector's eyes flickered. He didn't know how Hobson could have learned of their plans, but it certainly made more sense than what Seto had suggested._

"_Can't you believe me, Lector?" Mokuba said without hope. If Seto could believe Mokuba would turn against him, how could he expect Lector wouldn't?_

"_I don't know what to believe," Lector frowned. But he lingered, again examining Mokuba with searching eyes. "Are you alright?"_

"_Yeah. . . ." Mokuba's back was still hurting where Seto had hit him, but he would never admit to that._

_Lector gently laid a hand on Mokuba's shoulder. "I'm sorry." He straightened and went back in the room, shutting the door after him._

_The others had left now, exiting through the back door of the room so as not to encounter Mokuba in the hallway. The lights were off, but the flashing lightning revealed that Seto alone was still there, glaring coldly out at the city. Lector approached him from the side and then stopped, keeping to the shadows as he observed. Did Seto know he was there? Not much escaped Seto's knowledge._

_Could he have really overlooked his younger brother slipping information to Gozaburo?_

_Could Mokuba have really done it?_

_Lector could scarcely believe it, really. Mokuba had no loyalty to Gozaburo, at least, certainly not above the loyalty he had to his brother. If there was one thing Lector was sure of, it was that Mokuba loved Seto more than anything else. He had never seen such an idolizing child._

_No, Mokuba could not have done this. But who did that leave?_

_It certainly wouldn't have been any of Lector's partners. They would all gain by going through with their plan. And Lector knew he hadn't said anything._

_He stared at Seto's cold, hard look again. Seto had been on fire moments before, when he had screamed at and shoved Mokuba. Now he looked like ice had settled in his veins. Was he hurting because of the betrayal?_

_Could he really believe Mokuba would turn against him?_

_Why would he have said it if he didn't?_

_Lector didn't like the nagging feeling in his stomach. He didn't have all the pieces yet, but he was increasingly sure that the solution to this puzzle was a dark and cold one and not at all what it appeared to be on the surface._

_It wasn't until Seto's plan succeeded that Lector understood the truth. Seto had accused Mokuba while knowing he was innocent, hoping he would run to Gozaburo for comfort with no one else available. Then Gozaburo would think Mokuba would give his shares of KaibaCorp to him, allowing him to keep control no matter how many other shares Seto and the Big Five bought. But Seto knew that Mokuba would still give his shares to Seto, even after the horrible accusations._

_Lector was horrified and outraged. But by then it was too late; Mokuba had already been hurt and Gozaburo had run away in shame, completely destroyed by the loss of KaibaCorp. And although Lector knew he had played a part in it, he blamed Seto's cruel manipulations and trickery most of all._

xxxx

Lector was alarmed as he took the phone call from Yugi explaining what had been happening tonight—Seto mind-controlled and releasing the Duel Monsters, departing out of badly shaken horror and panic that he might hurt Mokuba, and their desperate attempts to track him failing.

"Mokuba was afraid of this, and it's true," Yugi said. "Kaiba turned off the helicopter's ability to be tracked. He's completely off the radar; we don't know where he's going or what to do." He took a deep breath. "I really think it might help Mokuba if you could come over. . . ."

"Of course I'll come," Lector exclaimed. He hung up, badly shaken himself.

"Lector?" Crump was looking at him in concern. "What's up?"

"Serious trouble," Lector replied. He told what Yugi had told him.

"Kaiba's flipped?!" Crump exclaimed.

"He set the Duel Monsters loose in the city?" Johnson was stunned.

Gansley frowned, deeply. This really was serious. Not just anything could control Seto, he was sure. It would have to be something deadly and dangerous.

Nesbitt looked away, sickened. A strong mind being controlled reminded him far too much of his own plight. He understood Seto's panic and desire to run as far away as he could, all too well.

Lector walked over and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Yugi thinks it might be comforting to Mokuba if I go over there," he said.

"You should go," Gansley immediately agreed.

Nesbitt nodded. "The kid really looks up to you." He hesitated. "I never told you, but . . . when I took Mokuba in Noa's world, I was going to bring him to you after you dueled Kaiba."

Lector stared at him. "You were? But . . . I thought you didn't know . . . that none of you knew. . . ."

"We could all see that you cared about the boy," Gansley said. "We just didn't fully realize how much, especially not after we sank so deeply into our hatred and despair."

Lector slowly nodded. "I'm glad those horrible days are over," he said quietly. "Thank you . . . all of you." He headed for the door. "I'll keep in touch."

"You'd better," Gansley said.

xxxx

Mokuba didn't know what to do. The only hope seemed to be going to the cabin in the canyons, yet he really didn't believe Seto would go there. Marik was trying to comfort him and at the same time gently prompt him to think of any other possible places, but to no avail.

"We don't all need to be here," Yami Bakura grunted. "Some of us should go out looking."

"I know," Atem nodded.

"Go ahead," Marik said. "I'll stay here with Mokuba."

"But where can we even look?" Téa fretted. "He could be anywhere!"

"Then we have to look everywhere," Yugi insisted.

"We also need to think about who could be doing this," Marik said. "They know Egyptian, but are they someone we've encountered before or someone new?"

"I am afraid they may be someone new," Ishizu said quietly.

"And the only one who ever really controlled Seto for any length of time was Anubis," Mokuba said. "Does that mean whoever this is might be on the same power level as that?!"

"Let's hope not," Atem frowned.

"In any case, their goals must be different than Anubis's," Yugi said. "But why would they want Duel Monsters to come into this world?"

"I hate to think," Téa moaned.

A knock on the door brought everyone's attention up. Atem, who was the closest, opened it. "Hello, Lector," he greeted the concerned man.

"Good evening." Lector stepped into the entryway and looked around for Mokuba.

That wasn't difficult; Mokuba hopped off the couch and went over to him. "Lector. . . ." He hugged his friend around the waist. "I don't know what to do or where Seto is or anything. . . ."

"It's going to be alright, Mokuba," Lector soothed, holding him close. "We'll find him."

"We'll start looking right now," Bakura promised, heading for the door.

Most of the others left with him. Lector went back to the couch with Mokuba and the boy sat between him and Marik.

"Can you think of anywhere Seto might go, Lector?" Mokuba pleaded. "Some place of Gozaburo's that he might have found out about and decided to keep secret?"

"Gozaburo had a summer home as well as that cabin," Lector mused.

"Oh yeah," Mokuba remembered. "We never used it. I guess he stopped using it after Noa died?"

"That's right," Lector said. "Your brother might go there, or he might choose someplace entirely new. Maybe he would even go to a hotel."

"And there's no shortage of those," Marik said in chagrin.

"I wonder if Roland would know about any other places," Mokuba said. He sat up and grabbed the phone. "I think I'll call."

Roland was alarmed by the situation, but unfortunately he didn't know of any places Mokuba hadn't already thought of. He was sure that Seto likely kept some places secret in case the time ever arose when he felt he needed to go off alone, which wasn't at all encouraging.

"I guess there's no choice then," Mokuba said. "We'll have to check the cabin and the summer home."

"It would be better to wait until morning," Lector said. "Especially to go into the canyons." But he knew he wouldn't be able to wait if it was one of his friends, and he could see that Mokuba wasn't about to either.

"I'm going tonight," Mokuba insisted. He got up from the couch. "Seto needs me, even if he doesn't think he needs me and that I'd be better off without him right now. I'm not gonna give that creep a whole night to work on trying to control him!"

"Then I'm going with you, my friend," Marik said, standing as well.

"And so will I," Lector promised.

Mokuba smiled. "Thanks, you guys."

xxxx

Lumis and Umbra were not pleased. It was mortifying enough to have been caught while spying, but now they had been arrested, fingerprinted, taken pictures of, and thrown in a jail cell. Gabrielle Valesquez, the arresting officer, was more than a little amused and delighted to have two such notorious Rare Hunters caught at last. And of course, as they had known, Bandit Keith was furious when Lumis tried to use his phone call to call him.

"Are you serious?! You can't even handle a simple assignment like this?!" Keith spat.

"Please forgive us, Master," Lumis gulped. "We weren't able to get away from so many of them!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not in a forgiving mood," Keith retorted. "You know that with me it's one strike and you're out, just like what I did to Bonz and his pathetic friends at Duelist Kingdom!"

"Are you saying we're fired?!" Lumis gasped, looking at Umbra with even wider eyes than usual. Umbra just stared back in shock.

"That's what I'm saying," Keith said. "Find a bail bondsman and get yourselves out of your own mess."

"But what about Brac- . . ."

"I'll worry about him!" Keith snapped. He hung up sharply in Lumis's ear.

Lumis slowly pulled the phone away, staring at it like it was a foreign object. Then he slammed it down and turned to Umbra with flashing eyes. "This is all your fault!" he spat.

"My fault?!" Umbra retorted. "How so?! You're the one who tried to crawl out of the bush first! I knew it wouldn't work!"

"Well, you're the one who fell into the bush in the first place!" Lumis shot back.

"Because I was trying to catch you, you ungrateful little . . . !"

"Boys." Gabrielle interrupted them, smirking as she leaned on the other side of the desk with folded arms. "Do you want to make a phone call, Mr. Umbra? If not, then it's back to the cell where you can continue your childish argument to your hearts' content."

Umbra scowled. ". . . Do you have a list of bail bondsmen in town?" he practically mumbled.

Gabrielle produced the Yellow Pages, still smirking as she let it thump on the desk. "You can find the right section yourself, I hope."

Umbra quickly flipped through the pages, turning more and more red as he worked. When he found an ad that looked good, he placed the call and turned away from the desk, even though he was sure Gabrielle could still hear him. "Hello? My friend and I need your help," he all but whispered.

Lumis, who was barely as tall as the high desk, shrank against it in despair. They had never been fired before. What were they going to do?

xxxx

Mokuba was quiet as he, Lector, and Marik took up a KaibaCorp helicopter bound for the canyons. He stared out the window, watching as the pilot lifted them higher and higher off the ground.

Lector sighed, observing the worried and heartbroken boy while they climbed. He didn't know why he was thinking so strongly of when Seto had accused Mokuba of being a traitor. This incident was completely different from that incident . . . although the similarity of Seto leaving Mokuba remained. Mokuba couldn't stand it without his brother, and no matter what, he would always try to see Seto's side in the situation, even as his heart was breaking.

Of course, in this case Lector couldn't really blame Seto for leaving. Naturally he would be utterly terrified of possibly injuring Mokuba if that thing took him over again. The fact that Seto had witnessed Nesbitt be mind-controlled to the point that he had harmed Lector probably only shook him up even more.

"Hey, Lector," Mokuba finally spoke, "it means a lot to me that you came. . . . You didn't have to, especially when you're trying to get Penguin World off the ground and all. . . ."

"This needed my attention more," Lector said. "I didn't always do as much for you as I should have."

Mokuba looked up at him. "You were the only one who wasn't mad at me when Seto called me a traitor . . . or I thought so, until I found out it was all a plan of Seto's to trick Gozaburo and he knew I hadn't done anything. . . ." He looked down. "Even though he did it for us to have a better life, I'm sure it really hurt him to do that. . . ."

Lector certainly hoped so, at least. He wouldn't have believed it in the past, but maybe now he did.

"I knew it didn't add up," he said. "I couldn't figure out what really was going on until it was too late, but the one thing I knew was that you would never betray your brother."

"Yeah. . . ." Mokuba looked to Marik. "And I'm always grateful you're here, Marik. You didn't have to come over tonight either. You were probably hoping to spend a nice evening with Ishizu and Rishid. . . ."

"I want to spend time with you as well," Marik said, "and I could see you needed my help tonight. I just didn't realize how much."

"Who would have ever thought that some horrible thing would try to take Seto over?" Mokuba shuddered. "And why would anything do it?!"

"That demon certainly would," Marik said darkly.

"Yeah, but you'd think Seto would recognize if it was him," Mokuba said.

"Shadi probably knows who it is, but I doubt he'll come and tell us," Marik grunted.

"I wonder if we should talk to someone else who has a connection with Egypt," Lector said. His voice had darkened. "Someone like Mr. Pegasus. I have wanted to demand an explanation from him ever since I learned that he stole your soul, Mokuba."

Mokuba started. "You think Pegasus might know what's going on?!"

"I believe it's a possibility we shouldn't ignore," Lector said. "If he has truly changed, as we have, then I suppose there is no need to worry. But are we certain he has?"

"Well . . ." Mokuba hesitated. "He did help out a lot that time Anubis showed up and controlled Seto. . . . And he seemed to be okay during the Dartz mess, when his soul got taken. . . ."

Lector sneered a bit. That sounded like poetic justice, for Pegasus to experience what such a horrific thing felt like. "I would still like to speak with him," he said. "Even if he isn't responsible, he may have some idea where to look for the guilty party."

"I guess that's possible," Mokuba said.

They all came to attention as the cabin drew into view. But as they stared down through the beam of the helicopter's spotlight, it was obvious no one was there. The house was in complete darkness and no other helicopter was in sight.

"I knew Seto wouldn't come here," Mokuba sighed, dejected.

"There's still the summer house," Marik said.

"Yeah, but I don't have much hope for that either," Mokuba said. "Seto really doesn't want to be found because he's so afraid of hurting us. . . ."

"We'll try anyway," Lector said.

But, as Mokuba figured, the summer house was also in darkness. There was nothing to do but turn around and go back to the city.

"What are we going to do?!" Mokuba cried. Despite not really believing they would find anything, he had still carried a smidgen of hope. Now that had been extinguished.

"I just don't know," Lector said grimly. "I'm sure your brother has also managed to turn off tracking his phone and his Duel Disk."

"He sure did," Mokuba said. "But I sent him a couple of text messages anyway. I can't stop hoping he'll change his mind and come back."

Marik was scrolling through his phone. "Speaking of Pegasus, I have an article dated today that says he's in town right now," he said in surprise.

"Oh really." Lector's eyes narrowed. "That seems a curious coincidence."

"Supposedly he's here for a business conference," Marik said slowly, "but it doesn't say with whom."

"But Seto's the only one Pegasus has a business deal with who lives here," Mokuba said. "And I know he didn't call today."

"Curioser and curioser," Marik mused.

"Does it happen to say where he's staying?" Lector asked.

"He was seen checking into the Royal Hotel," Marik said.

"Then that is where I will be going when we land," Lector said. "Mokuba, I don't want you along, just in case he tries something. I can't trust him until I've had a talk with him. Maybe not even then."

Mokuba frowned. "But this is about Seto! I should be there!"

"I think he has a point, Mokuba," Marik said gently. "Something is definitely strange here. We can wait at the house."

Lector gave him a grateful look. "Thank you, Mr. Ishtar."

Marik flushed, still finding it uncomfortable to be addressed as such. "It's nothing," he mumbled. "I want to keep Mokuba safe too."

Mokuba had to smile, happy that he had such caring loved ones.

xxxx

Lector didn't know what to expect when he arrived at Pegasus's hotel suite in the following hour. He had insisted on going alone, not wanting to endanger anyone else in case there was trouble, but he had to admit he was apprehensive as well as angry. What would he find? How would Pegasus behave? Could anything he said even be trusted?

He blinked in surprise when the door was opened before he even knocked. "Ah, Mr. Lector. Come in," Pegasus purred. "What a nice surprise." He really didn't sound at all surprised, and the eyepatch and ponytail were certainly new additions to his appearance.

Lector slowly stepped into the suite. "You seem to have the advantage of me, Sir," he said coolly. "You sound as though you knew I was coming."

"Oh, let's just say I had a feeling." Pegasus shut the door after him. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"I would like to know why you're in town," Lector said.

"Awfully nosy, aren't you," Pegasus said. "Well, I'm here on business, just like the newspaper said."

"Only you haven't contacted Mr. Kaiba," Lector pointed out.

"A small detail," Pegasus shrugged. "And that's not really what you came here to ask me about, is it?"

"It was one thing," Lector said. "I would also like to know if you have any idea who might want to target Mr. Kaiba right now."

"Aren't there dozens of people who want to target him all the time?" Pegasus said. "You yourself among them."

"I don't want to anymore," Lector said. "And there's something unique about this particular person. They know ancient Egyptian."

"Ooh, that does make it juicy," Pegasus said. "But I'm sorry, Mr. Lector. I can't help you."

Lector frowned. Something still felt off, but he couldn't put his finger on what. "Then I still have one more question. What was the meaning of stealing Mokuba Kaiba's soul during your Duelist Kingdom tournament?" His eyes flashed. "I never would have agreed to help you try to take KaibaCorp if I had known you were going to harm that boy!"

"And that's precisely why I didn't tell you," Pegasus sneered. He took a step forward. "Everyone has a weakness, Mr. Lector. Your love for that boy and for your partners is yours. My love for Cecelia is mine."

Lector held his ground, but the look in Pegasus's eye was turning his stomach. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

"Only that I'm embarking on a new quest, and you're going to help me!" Pegasus whipped out a strangely glowing object from under his shirt. "You don't want me to harm Mokuba's soul? Fine then! This time I'll take yours!"

Horrified, Lector punched Pegasus in the face and turned, not even stopping to see what his sudden enemy was doing before rushing out the door and into the hall. He couldn't stop there, either; he fled into the elevator and shut the door, frantically hitting the button for the ground floor.

Only when he was safely out of the hotel and driving away in his car did he take a moment to stop and really gasp for breath. He didn't know what to make of what had happened back there. Obviously something was wrong with Pegasus; he didn't act like how either Lector remembered or Mokuba had described. There was a definite madness about him, an almost . . . inhuman look in his eye.

First Seto, now Pegasus. . . .

"What is going on around here?!" Lector cried aloud.

There were no answers to be had.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Gansley and the others weren't quite sure how to work on the project without Lector there. As it turned out, the problem was soon solved when Peter came to the top of the stairs. "Dad? The kids would like you to read them a bedtime story," he said.

Gansley looked up with a start. "What?! . . . Oh. Ahem. I doubt I'd be any good at that," he stammered.

"I remember you reading to me," Peter smiled. "I'm sure you'll be fine. I brought some books with us; they'll choose from those."

"Well . . . that's good," Gansley said. "I certainly don't have any children's books on hand. . . ." He slowly got up from the couch.

Crump regarded him in amusement, but he also looked touched. "My parents sure never read to me," he said.

"Are you suggesting you'd like to listen too, Crump?" Johnson said, his eyes dancing with mirth.

Crump went red. "No, that's not what I meant! I meant . . . the kids are lucky their family cares about doing that with them."

Gansley smiled a bit. "Yes . . . I suppose they are. It's helpful for their future."

"Is that why you did it with your kids?" Nesbitt wondered.

"That, and I also enjoyed spending time with them," Gansley said. He headed for the stairs. "I'll be back down in a bit. If Lector doesn't check in soon, perhaps you'd better try contacting him."

"Right," Nesbitt nodded.

Gansley had only been gone around five minutes when the front door suddenly flew open and Lector stumbled in, his hands visibly shaking as he shut it behind him.

"That was left unlocked?" Crump blinked.

"Lector, what's wrong?" Johnson demanded.

"I've never seen you that pale!" Nesbitt got up from the couch, his eyes narrowed. "Is Kaiba hurt?"

"I don't know where Mr. Kaiba is," Lector said. "But something has happened to Mr. Pegasus."

"Pegasus?!" Crump echoed. "What the heck?! What's he got to do with anything?!"

"I don't know, but I went to talk to him just in case and he almost stole my soul." Lector sank into the nearest chair and leaned back, gripping both of its arms.

"_WHAT?!"_ Nesbitt boomed.

"You're sure he didn't, right?" Crump gulped, badly shaken by the announcement.

Lector looked up. "I can assure you, if my soul was gone, you would know it. I would either be in a coma or wandering around like the undead."

Crump cringed. "I'm sorry, Buddy. . . . I just thought . . . I don't know what I was thinking. It sounded so awful . . . !"

"Lector, you'd better give us your complete testimony about this," Johnson said in concern. ". . . When you're feeling up to it," he added.

Lector gave a weak nod. "I'll tell you now." Slowly he began to explain everything that had happened from the time he and Mokuba and Marik had started discussing Pegasus in the helicopter. As he finished with his wild flight from the hotel, he said, "I still haven't told Mokuba yet; I came straight here. I wanted to calm down before he saw or heard me." He heaved a sigh. "But he's waiting and hoping Pegasus can help. I have to let him know the truth before he decides to go there himself." Suddenly panicked that Mokuba might do so right away, he grabbed his phone and dialed.

The others stood by, watching as Lector made a video call. To all of their relief, Mokuba soon appeared. "Hi, Lector. What happened?"

Lector sighed. "I'm sorry to say, nothing good. Pegasus behaved strangely from the moment I arrived. He was wearing an eyepatch and had his hair pulled back, neither of which I've ever seen from him before. He acted openly sinister from the get-go, and when I asked him about having taken your soul, he tried to steal mine with some bizarre object!"

"What?!" Mokuba shrieked. "Lector, are you okay?!"

"Yes. I barely got out of there intact." Lector couldn't suppress a shudder. "He didn't try to follow me. But under no circumstances are you to try talking to him, Mokuba!"

"Oh, don't worry. I won't." Mokuba frowned, pondering on the strange situation. "Was anyone with him? Croquet? . . . Kemo?"

They both cringed. Kemo had worked for KaibaCorp until deciding to betray them to Pegasus. He hadn't been heard from in quite some time, which was certainly alright with Mokuba.

"I didn't see anyone," Lector said.

"Croquet is like his Roland," Mokuba frowned. "It's kind of weird he wasn't there."

"This entire thing is weird," Marik said in the background. "And what could have prompted the strange changes in his appearance? I'm not very familiar with him, but even I know that doesn't sound like him at all. He's generally so immaculate."

"It really is weird that two prominent businessmen are suddenly going berserk," Crump remarked.

Mokuba scowled. ". . . I wonder why," he whispered. "Are businessmen being targeted or something, like when that creep was going around trying to kill them one by one?"

"I remember that," Lector said, frowning. He and the others had witnessed it as wandering spirits. Lector had never quite known what to think of it. While on the one hand he had applauded the man for trying to bring down sleazy businessmen, his madness had been all too evident and that had been disturbing and dangerous. Now that Lector was trying to turn his life around and was sure that he had been a complete hypocrite for targeting Seto despite his own sins, he was even less sure of what to think.

"Yeah, and wasn't that nut using one of those Infinity Items or something?" Crump said, breaking into Lector's thoughts.

"It was a fake," Mokuba said. "The real ones can't be directly used for evil."

"I wonder if Pegasus found another fake," Johnson frowned. "That could be what he was pulling out on Lector."

"Oh man." Mokuba stared. "Maybe he did! But that still wouldn't explain everything. . . ."

"If we only knew who's controlling Kaiba," Lector sighed.

"Wait a minute!" Johnson exclaimed. "When Nesbitt was controlled, Yami Bakura used the Infinity Ring to scan him and determine who was in control! Maybe he could do the same to Kaiba!"

Nesbitt flinched at the memory.

"Unfortunately, he may need the person right there to scan them," Lector said, giving Nesbitt a sympathetic look. "And as I recall, the Ring only projected a silhouetted image of the culprit. If it does that again with Mr. Kaiba and we don't recognize the silhouette, we'll be right where we started."

Johnson's shoulders slumped. "Oh, that's true."

"Hey, where's Gansley anyway?" Mokuba asked.

"I assumed he was with his grandchildren," Lector said, looking to the others for confirmation.

"That's right," Johnson said. "They wanted him to read to them."

"Wait, his grandkids?!" Mokuba blinked.

"Yes, his son Peter showed up with his two children, hoping to take refuge in the house while he tries to figure out how to beat the Rare Hunters who are after him," Lector said.

"What?!" Marik ran over to the phone and bent down to look into the camera. "Yugi and the others caught two Rare Hunters loitering around my house! They thought some errand boy they were looking for might come to me for help getting out! Are you saying the errand boy they're looking for is Gansley's son?!"

". . . It would seem so," Lector said.

"Where are those Rare Hunters now?" Johnson asked.

"They got arrested," Mokuba replied, "but they'll probably get out on bail. . . . It's Lumis and Umbra. I think they're ranked pretty high in the organization."

Lector stood. "I had better go warn them that the Rare Hunters are in town," he said. "Mokuba, Mr. Ishtar, can you warn Yugi and the rest about Pegasus, just in case for some reason they entertain the thought of talking to him?"

"We sure will," Mokuba said. "Be careful, Lector. . . ."

"I will certainly do my best," Lector said. "Goodbye, Mokuba." He hung up and started up the stairs. The others quickly trailed after him.

None of them quite expected the sight of Gansley awkwardly sitting on a couch in an upstairs bedroom, a children's book open on his lap and Amber and Charlie snuggled on either side of him, asleep. But Lector smiled. It was a peaceful scene, and these children certainly seemed to be good kids, unlike many of the ones Lector had dealt with in the past.

Gansley looked up as they came into the room. "Ah, Lector, you're back," he greeted.

"Yes, but just barely," Lector said. "I'm afraid I have some bad news." He looked to Peter, who was sitting across the room in a chair. "And some of it concerns you, Sir."

"Uh oh." Peter sat up. "The Rare Hunters?"

"I'm afraid so," Lector said.

Gansley looked to Peter. "Let's get these two to bed and then we can talk about it away from here," he said.

Peter was in agreement, so after he and Gansley gently carried the kids to the beds in the room, they quietly slipped into the hall with the rest. Once they moved to the upstairs study, Lector began explaining everything again, this time adding the Rare Hunter encounter Mokuba had described.

Peter groaned. "I was afraid they'd figure out I came to Domino City."

"Hey, at least they've got no idea where you went," Crump said.

"Mokuba said it's Lumis and Umbra," Lector said. "Does that mean anything to you?"

"It sure does," Peter said. "They're two friends who met in the Rare Hunters' organization and have risen in the ranks. Their claim to winning duels is their teamwork. They bowl the other players over with their close-knit camaraderie."

"Sounds like us," Crump said.

Peter nodded. "Sometimes they argue, but it never destroys their bond in the end." He sighed. "For Keith to have sent them after me, I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually."

"We'll keep you safe," Gansley promised.

Lector and the others were in full agreement—although they worried over exactly how they would accomplish that task. Lumis and Umbra, they worried, might not have been the only Rare Hunters sent. And if they were taken out of the picture, who might replace them?

xxxx

Lumis and Umbra were in even sourer moods by the time the bail bondsman got them out of jail. And with Bandit Keith having fired them, they both suddenly had nowhere to go and nothing to do.

"I can't believe Bandit Keith did this to us!" Lumis fumed. "We've always done good work for the Rare Hunters! We're among the top-ranked members, and he just casts us out like we're nothing because of one mistake?!"

"He'll probably be too caught up in trying to get revenge on Marik to even care about finding Bracken," Umbra said. "I say we should keep working on our mission. If we find Bracken, Keith might be pleased enough to reinstate us."

"Yes, but what can we even do?" Lumis scowled. "We checked the airport first and found out about the rental car, but we can hardly go up and down every street looking for it!"

"We just need to dig a little deeper into Bracken's past," Umbra said. "We thought maybe he was going to see Marik, but what if he had a different reason for choosing Domino City?"

"Hmm." Lumis started to sneer. "You know, he always did seem secretive about his family other than his children."

"Exactly," Umbra said. "His siblings all seemed to live near him, and his mother, but there was no trace of his father. It's possible his father lives here, and he ran here to beg for help."

"So how should we go about looking for his father?" Lumis wondered. "We already checked the phone book and there aren't any Brackens listed."

"That must not be his father's name," Umbra said.

"It still seems an insurmountable task," Lumis said.

"Let's try looking things up by his mother's name," Umbra said. "Maybe we'll be able to dig deep enough to find out what's going on with her and with the family in general."

"Unless Bracken isn't really her name either," Lumis said.

Umbra scowled. "We'll see." He took out his laptop.

Several searches later, they were still confused, or even moreso than before. Umbra was starting to think Lumis was right that Bracken wasn't the mother's maiden name. "It really is impossible!" he snarled in frustration.

"Wait! I have another idea." Lumis leaned over the table. "Perhaps the mother changed their name, but she likely didn't change their birthdays. That would be too confusing for the children. We know Bracken's birthday. Let's try going back in the records and find all the boys who were born on that day and year in Domino City."

Umbra started to smirk. "That's an excellent idea. It's worth a try." He started to type again.

Lumis came around to look as the results loaded. "Look at this!" he exclaimed, pointing at the screen. "A Peter Gansley was born then!"

"Gansley," Umbra mused. "Didn't someone named Gansley work for Seto Kaiba?"

"At one time, I think," Lumis said.

"Alright then." Umbra sneered. "Now we just have to find Mr. Gansley and we may have this case made."

xxxx

Seto didn't know what to do with himself. He had tried to settle down in the location he had chosen, but he was too badly rattled to do anything. Eating was a joke. He didn't want to sleep for fear of being taken over again. He tried to research what could be doing this, but he didn't even know what to search for. All he knew about this force was that it spoke ancient Egyptian and that it didn't sound in the least familiar.

"What's happening to me?" he said helplessly as he dug his fingers into his hair. "Why would something choose to control _me?_ Why would that be an advantage over controlling someone else instead?"

His phone dinged with another arriving text. He sighed, looking over at it on the table. He read every message that had been coming in, but he had refused to answer any of them. This one, however, stunned him.

_Big brother, please come back. Something's wrong with Pegasus too. Lector went to talk_

_to him and he tried to steal Lector's soul with some creepy new magic object! Who knows_

_what's going to happen next!_

Seto grabbed the phone, staring at the message again. What on Earth could be wrong with Pegasus? And why was it happening right now? That was a bizarre coincidence, he had to admit.

Or was it a coincidence? What if, for some reason, some nut out there wanted to mind-control businessmen? But why?

_Seto, what if it's like when that creep tried to kill all the businessmen? He had a fake Infinity Item. Maybe this thing Pegasus has is another fake!_

But would it be another plot to kill businessmen? Seto frowned. What if there was another reason, a different reason? What could it be? Was there something businessmen could do that this madman wanted?

He hesitated, then touched the screen and began to type.

_Alright, Mokuba. You win. I'm coming back._

He didn't wait for the reply; he knew Mokuba would be ecstatic. Instead he just shoved the phone back in his pocket and got up from the table.

The last thing he was expecting to see as he stepped outside was Téa, standing by herself and looking around in desperation. Frowning, he walked over to her. "Are you looking for me?" he intoned.

She jumped a mile. "Kaiba!" She spun around. "What were you doing in there?!" She gestured at the closed diner they were standing in front of.

"KaibaCorp owns it," Seto told her. "I thought it would be a good place to try to wait out whatever it is that's trying to take control of me."

She frowned. "If we started going through the list of every place KaibaCorp owns, we would have hit on it eventually. Did you . . . want to be found?"

Seto looked away. "I was going back regardless. Mokuba just sent me a text that something's wrong with Pegasus. He's in town and apparently he tried to steal Lector's soul."

"He sent the message to all of us," Téa said, holding up her phone. "What could be wrong?!"

"With Pegasus, who's to say," Seto grunted.

". . . Didn't he finally apologize to you for everything he did?" Téa asked.

"Yes, he did, and he gave me the card Kaibaman as a peace offering," Seto said. "With Pegasus it's always hard to know if he's sincere or not, but for some reason I actually had believed he meant it. Just for the sake of argument, let's suppose he did. Then what could be wrong?"

Téa stared. "The same thing that's wrong with you?!" she said in horror.

"That's what I'm thinking," Seto said grimly. "Is anyone else with you?"

"No, we split up to look everywhere," Téa said.

"Then you might as well stay with me," Seto said. "You shouldn't be out alone this late at night anyway."

Téa sighed. "You're probably right." She looked around uneasily. "How far away are we, anyway?"

"Not that far," Seto said.

That brought a scowl. "So you made everyone think you were going really far, and then you stayed nearby?!"

"You could say that," Seto said.

Téa glared at him. "Kaiba . . . !"

"Before you get too righteously indignant, just remember that I was trying to protect all of you," Seto said flatly. He walked past her to the helicopter.

She had been about to scold him, but that matter-of-fact statement stopped her cold. "You . . . really admit that?" She hurried after him.

"I just did, didn't I?" Seto retorted. But then he went stiff. "Oh no. . . ."

Téa followed his gaze. The helicopter was clearly in no condition to fly again; all the propellers were bent at odd angles. "What happened?!" she gasped.

"I guess the most likely scenario is that a Duel Monster did this," Seto said through clenched teeth, "but the way things are going, I have to wonder if I told a Duel Monster to do it and don't remember now." He turned away. "I'll send for a limo."

Téa looked after him helplessly. "Kaiba . . ." She had never seen him like this. She had to admit she wasn't sure what to make of it or how to even help him, but she wished she could.

"Hey, maybe we should just start walking back," she called. "This doesn't look like the best area to hang out in. Who knows where a limo is!"

"It's not safe moving either," Seto flatly pointed out. "If we go inside the diner and I lock the door, we should be alright until the limo comes."

"What were you going to do when it opened for business in the morning?" Téa wondered. She followed him back to the door and he unlocked it for them.

"It isn't opening for business yet," Seto told her. "KaibaCorp just purchased it and it's still being prepared." He let her go in first and then followed, locking the door again after them.

"It looks like a nice place," Téa said, studying the red-and-white checkered floor, large blue clock, and jukebox in surprise. "But a '50s diner is the last place I thought KaibaCorp would buy."

Seto shrugged. "Retro styles are perennially popular. Of course, it won't be like any '50s diner that's ever existed before. When it's done, this place will have a Duel Monsters makeover."

"Really? That sounds cool," Téa had to admit. As much as she didn't always like Seto's attitude, he did have good ideas.

"In fact, Pegasus was supposed to be here to talk with me about it, but he didn't contact me," Seto frowned. "And now to go after Lector like that. . . ." He gripped his phone tightly as he walked away to place the call for the limo.

Téa sighed and sank down at the counter. Taking out her own phone, she quickly tapped out a text to everyone that she had found Seto and they would be coming back soon. Relieved and happy messages began to pour in from the others, and she set the phone down to watch them come in.

Who would have ever thought that she would be here with Seto Kaiba, and not only that, but getting along relatively well with him? She certainly never would have imagined it could happen. In turn, he wasn't being as cold and hard as he had been in the past. He was still aloof, and probably always would be, but he seemed to want her to know that he wasn't trying to torture anyone by his sudden flight. The Seto Kaiba she had known before wouldn't have felt it necessary to tell her. Why now, and why to her?

He came back over to the counter. "Roland's sending a car," he said.

"Oh good," Téa said in relief. She paused, then looked to the phone. "Everyone's happy you're okay."

Seto grunted. "Hopefully they're not celebrating too soon."

Téa frowned, bending down to try to see past his bangs to his eyes. "Have you had any more problems with it trying to control you?"

"That depends on if it's happened without me remembering," Seto said. He wouldn't let her see his eyes.

Téa wasn't giving up. "I don't think that would happen," she insisted. "You've known something was wrong all this time and you've fought it off. You're too strong for it!"

"Except for the part where I cast an ancient spell that brought Duel Monsters here," Seto growled.

"And you still took your mind back after that!" Téa said. "It probably won't even try again because it sees you're too strong for it!"

"Heh. It's a nice thought, but I wouldn't count on it." Seto pondered for a moment. "And what about Pegasus?" he said then. "If it has him too, does that mean he's too weak?"

"I'm sure he's not as strong as you," Téa said. "Especially when he no doubt still misses his wife so much. . . . That creepy thing might have used that against him, promising to bring her back if he helped it or some twisted thing like that!"

"It's not every day that Téa Gardner stands up for Seto Kaiba," Seto mused. "It's an interesting change."

"Oh, make no mistake, you still frustrate me like no one else does," Téa said. "But . . . you're not what I thought you were when we first met. For that matter, you're not who you were then. You've changed for the better."

Seto looked away, a bit embarrassed. "If I've changed, it's because of Mokuba's influence. And Yugi's and the Pharaoh's. And . . . yours too."

Téa stared at him. "Really, Kaiba?"

Seto actually looked red from what she could see of his face. He nodded. "I thought all your preaching was just childish naivete. Some of it is. But . . . I found out some of it is true."

"I'm glad," Téa said, slowly starting to smile.

The sight of something out of the corner of her eye made her jerk to attention. At the same time, so did Seto. A Crass Clown was rolling past the diner on his oversized beach ball. Several other clowns followed, Saggi performing acrobatics while Peten threw his knives in all directions, hitting anything in sight.

Téa flinched. "Oh brother. Anyone in town who hates clowns is going to have nightmares. . . ."

"Ugh." Seto covered his eyes with a hand.

"Just remember that you didn't do this, Seto Kaiba," Téa insisted. "It was whatever tried to control you!"

"That's easy for you to say," Seto said. "You're not the one who . . ."

He trailed off as something heavy loudly thumped on the roof.

"What was that?!" Téa cried.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes: As some may have figured by now, I'm bringing in some loose elements from the game **_**Reshef of Destruction.**_** Overall, though, I don't think the story will be too much like the game.**

**Chapter Seven**

Seto was immediately on edge from the violent crash. But when he suddenly heard a familiar roar, he relaxed. "It's a Blue Eyes," he said. "We're fine."

"Oh good," Téa sighed in relief.

"Actually . . ." Seto's eyes gleamed. He went outside and looked up at the majestic creature on the roof. "I think I'll call Roland and have him cancel the car. Let's ride back in style."

Téa followed him, but her mouth dropped open at this announcement. "What?! We're going to ride the dragon?!"

"Well, why not?" Seto retorted. "We've had to ride dragons several times in the recent past."

"I know, but . . ." Téa trailed off. Seto had such an obsession with Blue Eyes, and after all the disasters of the past night, maybe he deserved to enjoy something for a while. "Alright," she relented. "Let's go."

Seto was already calling Roland. The Blue Eyes, drawn to her master, came down from the roof and stood in the road, waiting for them to board.

"I wonder if she came here just for you, Kaiba," Téa mused.

"I wouldn't have believed it before, but it doesn't seem so outlandish now," Seto said.

He climbed on first and Téa got on behind him. She went red as she wrapped her arms around him. It had to be done for safety reasons, but that didn't make her feel any less awkward about it.

The Blue Eyes spread her wings and took to the sky. The wind blew into their faces the higher they rose and soon Téa's hair was a wild mess, venturing in every direction possible. But she tried to relax and enjoy what she could see of the view; it really was incredible. She could feel that Seto was relaxing as well. This was definitely an interlude he needed.

_I actually feel at ease here like this,_ she thought to herself. _Not just on the dragon, but with Seto Kaiba. So much has changed. . . . I always dreamed of spending time with Atem like this. Well, maybe not by flying over town on a giant dragon, but . . . just the two of us, on an adventure together._

And Seto seemed alright with being with her . . . maybe even liking it?

No, probably just liking being with one of his beloved Blue Eyes White Dragons. She couldn't let herself get too carried away with crazy thoughts. Where was she even going with this train of thought anyway?

Well, in any case, she couldn't let herself forget that Seto had actually said she had helped influence him for the better. That wasn't something Seto said to just anyone. And he had told her in the past that he thought of her as a friend. Maybe . . . maybe he did like being here with her. . . .

"Look out," Seto said flatly.

Téa clutched him closer and ducked, just as a Sangan bounced by overhead.

_What a weird experience,_ she thought. _But I guess this is par for the course in Domino. . . ._

She idly found her thoughts turning to her dream of going to New York to study dance. She had wanted that so badly for so long, but in the last months she had started to wonder. Did she really want to leave all of her loved ones behind for so long? They would always be in her heart, but it really wasn't the same as actually being with them. Maybe she could attend a dancing school much closer so she wouldn't have to leave Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Atem . . . Seto. . . .

She rocked back in stunned shock at that thought. Although, really, it wasn't that surprising, she supposed. She and Seto were just newly exploring the idea of a friendship; it would be a shame to make that more difficult with distance. Now that she was seeing how Seto really wasn't what she had once thought, she genuinely wanted to get to know him better behind his masks.

Part of her wanted to start a new conversation. But although normally she had no shortage of words, right now she couldn't seem to think of anything to say. And stranger still, that seemed to be alright. There was no awkward silence, but a comfortable one. They didn't need to speak. She relaxed further, just enjoying the ride and the moment, as Seto no doubt was.

Seto's thoughts were a confused whirl. He was indeed enjoying riding on a Blue Eyes White Dragon; naturally he would. And it did seem strange to him how at ease he felt around Téa, especially given their most unfriendly interactions in the past. But that was how friendship must be, he supposed—trusting someone well enough to grow comfortable around them and to enjoy their company. He liked sharing this with Téa when she was open-minded enough to give it a chance. Maybe they would be able to share other experiences like this in the future.

He liked that thought.

xxxx

Gansley was tense as he sat up with his friends and his son. The children were still asleep and they hoped that would remain the case, but now Gansley felt it was time that he had to tell Peter the truth about himself.

"Peter . . ." He shifted, uncertain. "There's a lot you and the rest of the family don't know about me. I've made some mistakes in my time, some of them quite serious. I . . . well, there was a time when I was very dangerous."

"It sounds like it was in the past," Peter said. "I definitely understand about making mistakes, Dad. Look at me—I got mixed up with the Rare Hunters!"

"That's true," Gansley said slowly, "but you didn't know it was them at first. I knew what I was doing, but I was so angry and bitter that I didn't care."

"You're not that person now," Peter said. "I like who you are now, and I'm not afraid for the kids to be with you. I don't need to know what happened in the past."

"The knowledge may be forced on you," Gansley said.

"We'll see," Peter said. "I'll worry about it if it happens."

"Thank you," Gansley said quietly.

Lector smiled. It was good to see Peter's attitude, especially after Gansley had worried how he might feel. Lector definitely believed Gansley deserved a fair chance when he was trying to be a good person.

"Maybe we should all try going to bed now," Crump suggested. "It's getting pretty late."

"I should definitely get to bed so I'll be fresh to deal with this Rare Hunter problem in the morning," Peter said. "You're all staying over?"

Nesbitt glanced at Gansley. "Probably."

"We rotate whose house we're at each day," Gansley said. "Since our business venture is a group effort and we need to be together to plan it, and since we have no other obligations, it makes sense to us to stay together. We often just spend the night at whoever's house we're at that day."

Peter smiled. "I think that's great. You're all so close." He stood. "I'll see you all in the morning." He paused in front of Gansley. "Thanks . . . Dad."

Gansley nodded. "Thank you, Son." He seemed very much at peace as Peter left the room and as he took his cane and got to his feet.

"I'm truly happy for you," Lector said. "He does seem sincere."

"Even though he came here partially to hide out," Nesbitt grunted.

"It was for the children's sake," Gansley said. "I don't know that he would have done it had he been alone."

Lector gave a tired sigh but a genuine smile. "It's good to see fathers who care about their children."

Gansley's eyes flickered with sadness and he laid a hand on Lector's shoulder.

They were all getting up to start for bed when an abrupt knocking on the door startled them.

"Maybe it's news about Kaiba?" Crump suggested.

"But why not text us?" Lector glanced at his phone to be sure no messages had come through. None had.

Gansley frowned and headed for the stairs. The others followed, but by the time they reached the ground floor, the maid had answered the door. Two robed men were standing on the porch, one tall, one short.

Gansley's eyes narrowed. "Lumis and Umbra, I presume."

"Oh, you've heard of us?" Lumis smirked. "Then you must already know why we're here."

"Yes, and you won't be accomplishing your mission, I can assure you," Gansley growled. "I will keep you from my son at all costs."

"We all will!" Crump exclaimed. He and the rest quickly surrounded Gansley. "You mess with one of us, you've gotta deal with all of us!"

"All we have to do is send a message to Bandit Keith that we've found our wayward errand boy and he'll send reinforcements," Umbra said. "You won't stand a chance."

"Really?" Gansley retorted. "I can't believe you'd come here without having done that first."

"Or maybe you want to have your errand boy in hand first, since Bandit Keith fired you both," Lector said.

Lumis and Umbra both flamed red. Clearly they hadn't expected that to be known.

"I can easily call the police on you both and have you arrested for trespassing and attempted kidnapping," Gansley said. "In fact, there's really no reason why I shouldn't."

"Oh, there isn't?" Lumis sneered more. "Why don't you step out on the porch? We'd like to show you something."

"Don't go," Nesbitt growled. "It's probably an ambush."

"I can assure you, it's not," Lumis said. "It would be in your best interest to look."

Gansley considered that and nodded. "We'll all go," he said, and when that didn't faze the two Rare Hunters, he took the chance and stepped onto the porch. The others were immediately with him.

"Walk to the edge of the porch and look over the railing," Umbra directed.

They all did. It was Gansley who saw it first, and he took a sharp intake of breath.

Nesbitt swore. "That's . . ."

"One of the biggest Duel Monsters I've ever seen!" Crump yelped.

"The Masked Beast Des Guardius," Gansley said in horror. The creature was sitting on the front lawn, looking up at the bedroom where the children were sleeping.

"What are you planning to do with that?!" Johnson demanded.

"We want to duel you for the right to get past you to Bracken," Lumis said. "Deny us, or try to have us arrested, and we won't be responsible for what our beast does."

"This is outrageous!" Gansley spat. "There are small children up there! Are you willing to harm them?!"

"Are you willing to take the chance that we aren't?" said Lumis.

"And just what guarantee do we have that you won't simply attack anyway, even if we beat you?" Lector asked.

"If you actually manage to beat us when the monsters are real, it's unlikely we'll have any strength left to come after you," Lumis said.

Gansley snarled. "You leave me no choice. I'll have to duel you."

"You'll have to duel with all of us," Lector said coldly.

"I'll tag team duel with Gansley," Crump volunteered. "Our decks complement each other nicely." He sneered at Lumis and Umbra.

"And I'll duel you with Lector," Nesbitt said.

"That leaves one of you to duel us alone," Umbra pointed out, looking to Johnson.

"One of us will duel you twice and tag with Johnson," Gansley said.

"I will," Lector said. "I believe our decks would work together well."

"But right now, you'll have to deal with me and Crump first." Gansley's eyes were dangerous as he took out his deck.

"Very well," Lumis grinned. "Let's step onto the lawn and begin."

xxxx

Bandit Keith was still angry, even moreso than before. He had wanted to focus his attention on Marik and leave finding Peter Bracken up to Lumis and Umbra, but now that he had fired them in disgust he was on his own. He hadn't brought any other Rare Hunters with him.

He scowled at the darkened room. Maybe he had been too hasty to fire them. After all, they had been among the top-ranked members when he had taken over the organization, and they had always done good work for him until now. But then he wasn't forgiving of any mistakes. He had beat up Bonz, Sid, and Zygore and taken their Star Chips for failing him just once. Actually, it had only been Bonz who had failed him, but that had been more than enough cause for him to dump all of them.

A knock on the door jerked him to attention. No one knew he was there, except his hapless Rare Hunters. "Yeah, what is it?" he spat.

"Oh, is that any way to greet an old friend?"

Keith was on his feet in an instant. "Pegasus?! What the . . . ?!"

The glow from a strange object revealed the creator of Duel Monsters standing and smirking at him from the doorway. "Why yes, Keith, it's me, in the flesh. How good it is to see you again. I've wondered where you've been keeping yourself."

"Cut the small talk!" Keith snarled. "You couldn't care less about me! You tried to drown me, remember?!"

"As I recall, you tried to shoot me and I defended myself," Pegasus said.

Keith growled. "Well, nevermind. What do you want?! In fact, how did you even know I was here?!"

"I know a lot of interesting things." The mysterious object glowed again. "And I came to ask you a question. Do you want ultimate power?"

"What kind of question is that?" Keith snorted. "I'm running the Rare Hunters, ain't I?"

"Small potatoes compared to what you could be doing!" Pegasus gave a wild gesture.

Only now did Keith really notice the eyepatch and the ponytail. Not that he particularly cared or even saw the significance in the style change; he was too annoyed and angry to understand something like that.

"So what could I be doing?" Keith asked.

"You could be on your way to ruling the world! Commanding life over death!" Pegasus's eye was wild.

"And all I'd have to do would be to pledge allegiance to you or something?" Keith frowned. "I don't think so. I'd have to be crazy to trust you."

"You're crazier not to," Pegasus sneered. "Is that your final answer?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Keith said. "Now get out of here! I'm trying to plan my revenge against Marik Ishtar."

"I'm sorry, I don't think you're going to be available to do that." Pegasus held out his magical item and it glowed more brightly. At the same time, Keith screamed. The sudden pain searing through his body was unlike anything he had ever experienced. When the glow faded, he fell over on the floor.

Pegasus towered over him with a cruel and inhuman smirk. "Now I've got the better of you again, Bandit Keith. And maybe what I couldn't get from Mr. Lector I can get from you. One way or another, I'm going to succeed this time. And once my new master has enough power, so will I!"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wavered. "What . . . what am I saying?" He stared blearily at the object in his hand. "What is this?"

Then the force seized him again. He stepped over Keith's prone body and walked out the door.

xxxx

Yugi had been relieved when Téa's message had come through. She hadn't specified where they would show up, but most of the group had decided to meet at the Kaiba Mansion. Once Téa and Seto arrived there, they could all try to figure out what to do together.

Kuriboh floated and bounced along between Yugi and Atem, chirping and cooing. Joey stared at him. "Can't figure out what he's so excited about. This has been one crazy night."

"I guess he's just glad to be with us," Yugi chuckled.

Atem smiled a bit. "Kuriboh has always been enthusiastic to be with his loved ones."

"I hope Gansley's really okay after Kuriboh slammed into him," Yugi said in concern.

"What?" Joey blinked. "Why'd he do that?"

"I guess he remembered when Gansley was our enemy," Yugi said.

"And I didn't stop to think that maybe he would think Gansley is still dangerous," Atem said in chagrin. "I should have warned him beforehand."

"Oh. Huh, that's a good point. I guess if any of our Duel Monsters show up, we'll have to tell them who're our pals now?" Joey said.

"I think it would be a good idea," Yugi said.

They arrived at the Kaiba Mansion. Marik and Mokuba were sitting on the front porch; clearly, Seto and Téa had not arrived yet.

"Hello," Marik greeted them.

"Hi, guys," Mokuba added.

"Shouldn't they be here by now?" Yugi wondered.

"You'd think," Mokuba said. "I don't know what's happened. I called Roland and he just said that Seto told him not to bring a car, that they'd found 'other transportation.'" He frowned.

"Knowing your brother, they're probably riding back on a Blue Eyes or something," Joey said.

Mokuba stared at him. "You know, I bet they are," he gasped.

"That's a weird thought," Joey said. "You really think Téa would go for it?"

"I think so," Yugi said. "And they wouldn't be able to send or receive any messages if they're on a dragon—they'd need to focus on not falling off." He sighed. "Hopefully they'll get here soon. . . ."

"Nevermind them; someone else is arriving," Yami Bakura interjected.

Everyone looked up with a start. A dark limousine was turning in at the driveway and parking next to the other vehicles.

"Man, I really hope that's not Pegasus," Joey gulped.

Instead, it was Croquet who got out of the car and headed over to them. "Please excuse my intrusion," he said solemnly. "I'm hoping you can help Master Pegasus."

"What?!" Joey exclaimed.

Atem stepped forward. "We heard he tried to steal a friend's soul tonight. Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"Not entirely," Croquet frowned. "It started several weeks ago. He started getting bad headaches and overworking himself. Whenever I tried to ask him about it, I got nowhere."

"That's just like with Seto!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"Then it grew worse. He went off on some new excavation he was very secretive about and came back with a strange new object. He claimed it would help him achieve a new great power." Croquet looked away, even though no one could see his eyes anyway with the thick sunglasses over them. "He then proceeded to drain the life energy of many of his employees."

Yugi stared at him in horror. "Are they dead?!"

"They all fell into comas," Croquet said. "Master Pegasus then fired me and came here, claiming that the next phase of his plan was in this city."

"And you came after him," Atem realized.

"I know something is drastically wrong," Croquet said, "but I didn't know who else to come to in order to ask for help."

Mokuba looked down. "Roland would totally do this for Seto too," he mumbled.

"We'll do everything we can to help Pegasus," Yugi said. "The same force that's trying to control him has also been trying to get Kaiba."

"But he's fighting it!" Mokuba exclaimed.

Croquet stepped back and shook his head. "What could it be?" he helplessly wondered. "And what could it want?"

"Do you remember any details of what he was working on when the headaches started?" Atem asked.

"Some new Duel Monsters cards," Croquet said. "He wanted to do a whole new series, as well as to update the artwork on some of the most popular cards. He said that the headliner for the new series would be Reshef the Dark Being."

"That . . . doesn't sound good," Joey gulped.

"I remember that character," Yugi exclaimed. "It was used by Alexander the Great in Capsule Monsters! The Duel Monsters card is really rare."

"Did Pegasus bring in all of that card's crazy powers?" Joey asked. "That thing was unreal!"

"It's one of the most powerful cards in Duel Monsters," Croquet said.

"Why did he want to design a new series based around it?" Atem wondered.

"I really don't know," Croquet sighed. "His designers tried to ask him why and he refused to give a straight answer. Later, when he came back with his new artifact, the first people to suffer his wrath were those who had questioned him about his decision."

"Oh man." Joey frowned, deeply. "He really means business."

"Or whoever is controlling him does," Atem said.

Mokuba was horrified as he mulled it all over in his mind. "What if Seto decides to go look for an artifact too?!" he exclaimed.

"Then we'll have an even more serious problem," Joey gulped.

"I think I'd better try to reach him right now," Yugi frowned. He took out his phone and started to type.

"Tell me, what did this artifact look like?" Yami Bakura asked.

"Master Pegasus never lets anyone get a good look at it," Croquet said. "It may be similar to the Millennium Eye or it may be completely different. One thing he did say was that it's part of a set and a puzzle piece. He said he was going to collect and assemble all the rest of them to obtain ultimate power."

"Then we've gotta collect them first!" Joey cried.

"Dude, we don't have any idea what we're even looking for!" Tristan shot back.

"Wait!" Yugi exclaimed. "The book about magical artifacts we took from Dr. Raven! Maybe they're listed in there!"

"The Big Five are still in possession of that book," Yami Bakura said.

"Oh great. Then we have five homes to check!" Joey moaned.

"Actually, I'll bet Gansley is keeping it," Yugi said. "He's the leader. In any case, they're all at Gansley's house right now. Let's go there and talk to them about it!"

"Somebody has to wait here for Seto!" Mokuba protested.

"We'll stay," Marik assured him. "Let us know what you find out."

"We will," Yugi smiled.

Croquet relaxed, possibly for the first time in weeks. "Thank you," he said.

Yugi looked up at him. "It sounds like the whole world might be in danger here. But . . ." He smiled. "We'd help even if the problem wasn't that widescale."

"I know," Croquet said. "I'm very grateful."

"Man, our reputation as goody-two-shoes precedes us," Joey muttered.

"Would you really have it any other way?" Tristan sighed.

". . . No," Joey admitted.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Lumis and Umbra were tiring. Fighting one tag team duel could be taxing, and when a lot of the monsters were real it was even moreso. Playing a monster's card seemed to call the creatures forth if they were anywhere in the humans' dimension.

And the Big Five were very skilled Duelists. Gansley and Crump both liked Water monsters and had turned the field into a powerful ocean with their cards A Legendary Ocean and Nightmare Penguin. Then, Johnson and Lector had combined their Fusion and Lockdown decks into a very dangerous recipe of strong Fusion monsters and clever strategies to render their opponents unable to do much against them. Lector was perhaps a little winded when it was over, but Nesbitt was fresh and ready to go.

"I wonder if we've made a little mistake," Lumis hissed to Umbra as the third duel got underway.

"Well, it's too late to back out now," Umbra growled back. "Especially since we've lost two duels already. We have to win this one, no matter what!"

Lumis nodded. "What is it with these people?" he bemoaned. "Their camaraderie and teamwork rivals ours!"

"I guess that's to be expected when they worked together so seamlessly for years," Umbra grunted.

They were soon surprised by this last tag team. Their strategies were not meshing together very well. While Lector preferred Setting monster, magic, and trap cards and waiting to be attacked, Nesbitt was all about brute force and immediately attacking the enemy with everything he had. Lumis and Umbra were quickly forced on the defensive, but Lector caught a smirk as they laid their monsters facedown.

"Nesbitt, don't attack them right now," he warned. "They're planning something."

"They're just trying to figure out how to hide from my wrath," Nesbitt said.

"We've already seen that they use a lot of crafty combos to hurt their opponents," Lector said. "They've no doubt set a trap for you! Wait and let them make the next move to attack. I promise I will back you up!"

"I'm not going to just sit around while they and you all put monsters in Defense mode," Nesbitt snapped. "That's not my style!"

"You got into a lot of trouble when you didn't wait to plan out your moves in Noa's world," Lector reminded him. "And that got all of us into trouble as well!"

"Yeah, well, this isn't Noa's world," Nesbitt retorted. "And sometimes the best thing to do is to attack!"

Lumis and Umbra exchanged a delighted look. "This team doesn't work together as well as the others," Lumis said.

Umbra nodded. "It probably wouldn't take much to split them up, just like we did to the Pharaoh and Kaiba during Battle City."

Gansley ran a hand over his face. "You have to pull together, you two!" he scolded. "They're going to get the better of you!"

"Nesbitt volunteering to tag with Lector was an impulse move," Johnson said. "If he had stopped to think about it, he might have known it wouldn't work!"

"Oh boy." Crump cringed.

Nesbitt was indeed ignoring Lector's scolding and sending his Ground Attacker Bugroth at Lumis's facedown monster card. Umbra immediately flipped over a card on the back row. "You've just stepped on a landmine," he sneered. "Widespread Ruin!"

Nesbitt rocked back, clenching his teeth as his monster was destroyed.

"Nesbitt, you fool!" Lector snapped. "I told you to wait, didn't I?! I could have rendered all of their traps useless on my next turn!"

Nesbitt snarled. "You're not the boss of me anymore!"

"For Heaven's sake, stop it!" Gansley boomed.

"What a pathetic team," Lumis mocked. "Our first two duels were so impressive that we were expecting the same from you two. It seems that was a mistake!"

Umbra sneered in agreement. "And since we already know Lector is formidable from his duel with Johnson, it must be you that is the weak link," he said to Nesbitt, who flinched.

Lector's eyes flashed. "Nesbitt is not a weak link," he spat.

Nesbitt looked to him in surprise. "Lector . . ."

"Look here. My ace monsters are Machines too," Lector told him. "If you can just be patient and use some strategy, our combined decks will be an unstoppable force!"

Nesbitt didn't protest. Instead he nodded, moved that Lector was giving him another chance. "Alright. Let's do it."

Lumis just scoffed. "You'll never make it work, after what we've seen."

"Oh really?" Nesbitt shot back. "The two of you start arguing every time you're about to lose, but it never seems to quell your team spirit or your love for each other in the end."

Lumis was stunned into silence. Neither he nor Umbra offered a protest to that.

Lector was right; with a little patience, he and Nesbitt achieved a powerful combination over their next turns. Lector summoned Jinzo and equipped him with Amplifier. Nesbitt brought out Machine King, which received extra attack points from every other Machine in play. After Lector called forth Satellite Cannon and Nesbitt played Clockwork Night, they had a supreme fighting team.

"Umbra?" Lumis quavered. "I think we're in trouble. . . ."

"Well, don't think that!" Umbra shot back. "There has to be something we can do . . . !"

But there wasn't. Lector and Nesbitt's combined attack brought their opponents' lifepoints down to zero. Lumis and Umbra yelped, flying backwards to crash on the lawn.

Gansley came and stood over them. "Now you've lost to every one of us," he said. "Get out if you want a headstart before I call the police."

Lumis stared up at him. "You're letting us go?"

"For now." Gansley's eyes were shaded by the night. He gestured with his cane. "Ta-ta."

The defeated Rare Hunters scrambled up and stumbled off the property. The Masked Beast Des Guardius, defeated in their duels, left with them.

"You're really letting them get off scot-free?" Nesbitt said in disbelief. "They'll go back to their leader and he'll just send another team!"

Gansley sneered. "Not if we have them followed and arrest them all in one fell swoop." He took out his phone. "I'll send my chauffeur after them."

"A brilliant maneuver," Johnson smirked.

Lector looked to Nesbitt. "We made a good team."

"Yeah," Nesbitt mused. "We did." He hesitated. "Thanks . . . for believing in me," he gruffly added.

Lector smiled. "As I've told you, Nesbitt, I always saw you had a lot of potential. It's just that sometimes it requires some work to draw it out."

Nesbitt slowly nodded.

"Guys!"

Everyone jerked to attention as Duke's car pulled into the driveway and Yugi leaped out, his eyes wide and filled with worry.

"What's happened now?" Gansley frowned, hanging up the phone.

"Kuri!" Kuriboh interjected, giving Gansley a suspicious look.

"We need to look at your book of magical artifacts," Yugi said. "Croquet came to ask us for help about Pegasus and he told us some scary things."

Gansley scowled. "Very well. Let's go inside and you can look to your heart's content. But what, exactly, did he say?"

Yugi explained while they were walking to the house. The Big Five listened, disturbed by the tale.

"So . . . what the heck is Reshef the Dark Being?" Crump wondered. "I never even heard of it."

"It's a really rare Duel Monsters card," Yugi said. "And it's a collectible piece in the Capsule Monsters board game. Pegasus put that out too, and coming to think of it, he must have had help from Dr. Alex Brisbane. . . . Only how could he, when Dr. Brisbane never even saw the game until Alexander the Great's dark half possessed him and then found us? He never left India. . . ." He frowned. "I wonder if Shadi wanted Pegasus to make the game. . . ."

"It's a mystery we may never have the answer to," Atem said. "And right now, I'm more concerned with current problems."

"Me too," Yugi sighed.

They entered Gansley's study and he unlocked a cabinet, taking down the heavy tome they had found in New Orleans. "Here." He handed it to Yugi.

"Thanks." Yugi sat down at Gansley's desk and started to pore through the pages.

"So, why were you guys all outside?" Joey suddenly blurted.

"Really, Joseph, you don't think we were simply enjoying the night sky?" Johnson smirked.

"Eh, considering everything that's been going wrong, not really," Joey retorted. "Not to mention, I didn't think any of you guys were into that."

"Johnson is, actually," Crump blurted. "But nah, we weren't outside for any fun reason. Those Rare Hunters showed up and challenged us to duels, so we all faced them. They've run away now, and Gansley's got his chauffeur tailing them to lead us back to their leader!"

"Hey, if they're going back to Bandit Keith, it'll take more than one guy to bring him down," Tristan said in concern.

"Once the location is known, he'll get back to me," Gansley insisted. "Then we'll decide what to do from there."

It was several minutes later when the phone rang with a video call. Gansley quickly answered. "What's the verdict?" he demanded.

"Sir, I'm at a warehouse," the chauffeur told him. "This is the area." He moved the phone across the space to record it all. "The Rare Hunters are over there, going through that door. . . ." He trailed off as Lumis gave a cry in the background.

"Master Keith?!"

"Lumis, what's wrong?!" Umbra exclaimed.

"I don't know!" Lumis gasped. "Keith is . . ."

"What's going on there?!" Gansley snapped.

The chauffeur was drawing closer to the open door. "Someone's lying on the floor," he reported. The video soon captured Keith's lifeless body and Lumis and Umbra bending over him.

Everyone in the room was trying to crowd around Gansley's phone now, except for Yugi. Joey stared. "What the heck?! What happened to Bandit Keith?!"

"He's barely alive," Lumis said in horror. "What do we do?!"

"I'll call an ambulance." Umbra straightened and turned away with his phone.

Yugi looked over with a start at the sound of the voices from the phone. "Barely alive?!" he gasped. "Like as if his life force was being drained out of him?!"

"Oh no," Croquet cried. "Master Pegasus may have done this!"

". . . Or Kaiba," Joey said.

"Except Kaiba doesn't have a magical life force draining item," Tristan retorted.

"Oh!" Yugi exclaimed in the next moment. "Guys, I think I've found something!"

Now everyone crowded around the desk. "What is it, Yugi?" Atem asked.

Yugi swung the book around so they could see. "It's a statue of Reshef the Dark Being," he said. "It's broken in eight pieces, each of which has a certain amount of power. If they're assembled into the statue, its full power is unleashed and whoever owns the statue can conquer the world!"

Croquet stared. "It does seem like the object Master Pegasus was holding could have been a hand, such as what's depicted here." He tapped the page.

"Oh great! So we have to try to find seven other pieces of this thing?!" Tristan said in horror. "Where would we even start?!"

"Maybe at least one of them is here," Yugi suggested. "Maybe that's the real reason Pegasus is in town!"

"Then someone should be watching him," Lector said in concern.

"I'll go back to the hotel and see if he's there," Croquet said. "I'll let all of you know."

"It says that if you have one piece of the statue, it will react when other pieces are nearby, so you can track them that way," Yugi said.

"Not much help if you're looking through the entire world," Duke grunted.

"I'll be alert," Croquet promised. "Thank you all again." He swiftly departed.

"This sounds really bad," Crump moaned.

"No kidding!" Joey exclaimed.

"I wonder if I should see if Grampa can get in touch with Dr. Brisbane, just in case he knows anything about this artifact," Yugi said.

"Hey, it wouldn't hurt," Tristan said.

"And what about Mr. Kaiba and Miss Gardner?" Lector frowned. "There's still no message saying they've returned yet."

"Seriously?!" Joey yelped. "Where the heck are they?!"

"There's too much going on here," Gansley grunted.

"Dad?" Peter was suddenly at the doorway. "What _is_ going on here?!"

Gansley facepalmed. "It's a long story."

xxxx

Téa had thought they were surely almost home when Seto stiffened, his eyes going blank. Without explanation he directed the Blue Eyes to go down to the street. She roared, not liking the idea. But, wanting to obey her master, she went.

"Kaiba?" Téa sat up straighter. "What are you doing? This isn't where we were supposed to land. . . ."

"It is," Seto intoned. He swept her arms away from him and got off the dragon, walking ahead towards an old antique shop.

Téa chased after him. "Kaiba?!" She stopped and stared in disbelief as he grabbed a rock. "Kaiba, you're not really going to . . ."

Seto lobbed the rock at the window before she could finish her sentence. Glass flew in all directions and the alarm went off. Ignoring it, he reached inside and took what looked like a nondescript piece of jagged gold. His eyes gleamed in a terrifying manner. "I have it!" he exclaimed.

"Have what?! Kaiba, you just stole something and we're going to get arrested!" Téa cried. "Put that back right now!"

"How can I steal it when it belongs to me?" Seto smoothly retorted.

"Huh?!" A cold feeling started to settle in Téa's stomach. "Kaiba . . . it's taken you over again, hasn't it?"

"You know how much I want to be powerful," Seto sneered at her. "This will help give me that ability. I just need to find six more pieces; I know where the seventh is."

"Kaiba, you're talking ridiculous!" Téa snapped. "You'd never say these things if you really knew you were doing it!"

"Heh." Seto started to push her aside. "I know exactly what I'm doing. Get out of my way."

Instead, Téa planted her feet. "No." She glared at him. "I'm not moving, Kaiba. You're my friend and I want to help you! I know this isn't you talking. Kaiba, you have to wake up!"

"Shut up! I'm sick of your nagging. And now I won't have to listen to it ever again." He held out the object and it started to glow.

Now the urge to take a step back was growing strong, but she managed to hold her ground. "Kaiba, what are you doing?" Even as she spoke, she could feel her strength beginning to fade. She stumbled, grabbing for a lamppost.

Seto's eyes flickered. "No!" He threw the object away from him, back through the window, and turned and ran.

Téa struggled to shake the fog from her mind. "Kaiba, no!" she screamed. "We just got you back! Don't do this!"

"Now you know why I can't stick around until I beat this thing!" he yelled over his shoulder. "You won't find me this time, Téa. I can promise you that!"

"I'm not letting you go!" Téa gave chase, flying over the sidewalk and around the corner where Seto had run.

He hadn't got far; he had fallen to one knee and was trembling, desperately fighting against the strange force that wanted him to go back and retrieve the golden object. "Stay away from me!" he snarled at Téa, sweeping out an arm to push her back. "Haven't you realized yet that it's dangerous to be around me?!"

"Friends don't give up on each other," Téa insisted. "Kaiba, it was your feelings of not wanting to hurt me that helped you get control again! If you were alone, it might have had more control over you!"

"So you think I'm weak without other people to use as crutches. Is that it?" Seto spat.

"No, that's not it!" Téa snapped. She came closer and knelt at his side, reaching to gently touch his arm. "You're one of the strongest people I know, Seto Kaiba. But caring about other people only makes you even stronger." She blinked back tears. "Mokuba doesn't want to lose you, and neither do Yugi or Atem or any of the rest of us! And . . . neither do I. . . ."

Seto turned to look at her, still in disbelief.

Téa's expression hardened. "And I'm going to fight for you. I'll never stop fighting for you!"

Seto didn't even know how to respond or react to that. He had rarely ever encountered anyone so determined about his well-being. Part of him wanted to snarl that she was a fool. The other part . . . well, he had to admit it felt good, knowing he was cared about that much.

"Not just for Mokuba's sake?" He didn't really think so, but he had to ask. He wanted to hear the answer.

"Not just for Mokuba," Téa said, her voice quavering. "For you."

"But . . . what can we even do?" Seto said, the helplessness slipping into his voice.

"I think we need to find out what that freaky object is," Téa said. "I'll carry it so it won't affect you. We'll take it back to Yugi."

"I might try to take it from you," Seto frowned.

"You're strong enough to stop yourself," Téa insisted. "Kaiba, that thing was draining my energy! If we just leave it, I'll bet it'll fall into the wrong hands. Maybe it's even something the Rare Hunters are looking for! . . . Or Pegasus!"

Seto's eyes widened. That sounded plausible right now. "Alright," he agreed. "We'll go back and get it."

The police still hadn't arrived when they returned to the broken antique store window. Although Téa hated to reach through and remove something, she knew that in this case it was for the greater good and possibly the entire world's safety. Not to mention, for a dear friend's safety. With that resolve, she quickly pulled it into her hand and headed for the Blue Eyes. "Let's go."

Seto agreed and followed her.

xxxx

Gansley and the rest had only finally explained everything that was happening to Peter when Lector's phone went off with an incoming text.

"Mr. Kaiba and Miss Gardner finally arrived back at the Kaiba Manor," he reported in relief. "Mokuba told them everyone else is over here and they're bringing a strange object Mr. Kaiba broke into an antique store to acquire. Apparently he tried to use it on Miss Gardner and she started feeling weak."

"Oh no!" Yugi gasped.

"So it must be another piece of this statue," Atem frowned. "And if Pegasus wants it, he may come looking for it from Kaiba."

"Unless they're both being controlled by the same force," Yami Bakura grunted. "Then there wouldn't be any need to take pieces from each other. They would each collect what they could and eventually come together with all of them."

"Man, I wish Serenity wouldn't have to get involved in this," Joey suddenly said.

"Is she still shopping?" Bakura asked.

"Nah, Ma got her home when the Duel Monsters started pouring out of the sky," Joey said. "And she doesn't want Serenity to go out. But of course, Serenity wants to help." He was looking at his phone. "I told her there's really nothing she can do right now, that we're just waiting for more info to come in."

"But we might have to go out looking for the other six pieces soon," Yugi worried. "And who knows where they are!"

"Hey, it's just a thought, but . . . if Pegasus and Kaiba are being controlled by this freaky force, what if it likes to go after businessmen?" Crump suggested. "Mokuba wondered if businessmen were being targeted, and maybe he's right. Maybe that Dartz guy or Siegfried von Schroeder should be checked out too."

". . . That's an excellent idea," Atem exclaimed. "Dartz lives in the city, so it should be easy enough to check on him."

"But why on Earth would businessmen be so desirable?" Bakura wondered. "What do they have that other people don't?"

"Better resources?" Crump shrugged. "They've got easy access for traveling. And if they're real bigwigs like Kaiba, they can get doors opened for them all over the place."

Atem nodded. "That's likely why."

David looked a little ill. "So, does that mean any businessman is fair game?" He glanced at Duke, who frowned and twirled a piece of hair around his finger.

"I don't know why they'd want me when they've got Kaiba," he said. "Sure, I've got a certain amount of power, but it's nothing compared to people like Kaiba or Pegasus or . . ." He froze. "Oh no."

"What is it?!" Joey wailed.

"David was reminding me today about those businessmen we met last year from Jenova Corp," Duke said. "They definitely have enough power to be useful to whatever this force is."

"Jenova Corp?" Tristan was bewildered. "What the heck is that?"

"We've all been too overwhelmed with disasters to really think about it, but they're another gaming company," David said. "And what I told Duke earlier is that when I started to think about it, the top execs look an awful lot like characters from _Final Fantasy VII._"

"You're kidding," Tristan said in disbelief.

"He's not," Duke said. "And he's right, they really do." He paused. "The company president is named Sephiroth."

Dead silence.

". . . So, he went nuts or something in the game, right?" Crump said.

"That's a good description of it," Yugi said. "He was a good man who completely went insane when he learned the truth of his origin." He bit his lip. "And if he's real, that force might try to manipulate him in this world."

"We'll have to speak with him about what's happening," Atem said. "Hopefully it doesn't have him yet."

"And Mokuba can probably talk to Leon about Siegfried," Yugi said.

Now Nesbitt looked ill. "You don't think this force . . . might try to get one of us, do you?"

Everyone started.

"I don't think so," Gansley told him. "We certainly don't have the power we once had. Hopefully we'll be on top again soon once Penguin World takes off, but for now we don't have the resources the force likely wants."

"Unless it just wants a weak mind that's capable of falling under its control." Nesbitt turned away.

"Nesbitt, you are not capable of that!" Lector snapped. "That demon took control of you, but nothing else has been able to get you since then. You know what it's like to lose control of your mind and you're strong enough to fight against it!"

"Joey's been controlled more than once," Tristan muttered.

Nesbitt stiffened. Lector shot Tristan a furious look.

"Well," Nesbitt finally spoke, "we'll just have to wait and see, won't we." He walked out of the room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

It wasn't long before Seto and Téa arrived with Mokuba and the Ishtars, the strange object in tow. Yugi looked it over in dismay; it definitely looked a lot like it could be part of the Reshef statue as depicted in the book.

"So what's the plan, Yugi?!" Mokuba demanded. "How are we going to help my brother?!"

"Well, right now I think we need to make sure that the other pieces of this statue don't fall into the wrong hands," Yugi said in concern. "I called Grampa and he's trying to reach Dr. Brisbane to see if he knows anything about it. Meanwhile, Crump thinks maybe your idea about businessmen being targeted is probably right, so I think we need to talk to some of the other possible targets, like Siegfried and Dartz and the president of Jenova Corp."

"Jenova Corp?" Seto started. "They're responsible for some of the augmented reality programming I used for _Duel Monster Days_."

Mokuba nodded. "Seto got a deal going with them last year."

"So . . . what'd you think of those guys?" Joey asked.

"I thought they were fine," Mokuba blinked.

"They don't seem . . . weird or anything?" Tristan said.

Seto grunted. "The promotions director is a little too enthusiastic for my tastes, but otherwise they seemed completely normal."

"They look like _Final Fantasy VII_ characters!" Joey blurted.

That brought a scowl. "Oh no. We are not going there," Seto snapped. "Isn't it enough that Duel Monsters are real?"

Yugi sighed. "Well, I think we need to get started talking to them before it gets any later. Do they live around here?"

"Not too far," Seto said.

Peter shook his head. "All of you seem to know what you're doing. I'd better stay here with the kids."

"I've brought in extra security," Gansley told him. "Everything should be fine."

"So are we splitting up to talk with Jenova Corp and Dartz?" David asked.

"Sounds good to me," Joey said.

"Maybe someone should check on Croquet and see what's happening with Pegasus," Bakura worried.

"We can do that," Yami Bakura said.

"And I'm texting Leon right now," Mokuba said. "It's daytime over there."

"What about checking on Bandit Keith and the Rare Hunters?" Yugi wondered.

"My chauffeur is still shadowing them," Gansley said. "I may approach them at the hospital. I imagine they'll be there a while. Either way, I'll know what they're up to."

"Good," Yugi nodded.

"Perhaps you should go with the group that talks to Sephiroth, Kaiba, since you know him," Atem said.

Seto nodded. "Let's just hope I won't lose my mind again. Or that he won't have already lost his."

"No kidding," Crump gulped. "Doesn't he have enough power to blow up the world?"

David cringed. "Let's hope some things just stay in the game and aren't true in real-life."

xxxx

The mansion where the Jenova Corp executives lived really wasn't far from everyone's current location. Seto took the lead in marching up to the porch and ringing the doorbell. The others in his group, including the Big Five, looked around nervously.

"I know we figured we should come here so we'd be closer to home if we're needed, but are you sure it's a good idea to come here at all?" Crump moaned.

"Quite frankly, no," Gansley retorted.

"You're not instilling me with confidence here!" Crump exclaimed.

Téa sighed. "We're going to be fine, Crump."

"Easy for you to say," Crump grunted.

The door opened, revealing a girl who was also familiar from the _Final Fantasy_ franchise. "Hello," she greeted. "Can I help you?"

"Aerith," David whispered to Duke.

"We need to talk to Sephiroth," Seto said. "Is he home?"

"Why, yes," Aerith said. "Come in, won't you?" She held the door open farther and the group trouped inside.

"Wow, this place looks even bigger than Kaiba's," Crump said.

Sephiroth was sitting on a couch in the living room, glancing over some papers. He looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Mr. Kaiba. I wasn't expecting to see you."

"I wasn't expecting to be here either," Seto said. "The fact of the matter is, we have a ridiculous problem and we're concerned you might get caught up in it."

"You have my complete attention," Sephiroth said. "What's wrong?"

Between them they managed to relay the basics of the problem. Sephiroth listened, frowning. Before their explanation was over, Cloud and Zack had wandered in to hear as well.

"So . . . basically you think that some crazy spirit is going around possessing businessmen so they can gather the pieces of an old statue?" Cloud remarked at the conclusion.

"That's pretty much it," Crump said. "And when they put them all together, they can have ultimate power!"

"And you wondered if one of us would be targeted?" Sephiroth said.

"Why us?" Zack asked. "I mean, there's tons of businessmen here!"

"Your company is very large and prestigious," Seto said before someone could blurt something awkward about Sephiroth's past in the game.

"Makes sense," Zack shrugged.

"Of course you realize that if one of us was possessed, we wouldn't admit it," Sephiroth said. "The force wouldn't let us."

Seto nodded. "But in case it hasn't happened, we felt you needed to be warned."

"Thanks!" Zack exclaimed. "We can sure use the warning."

The group quickly excused themselves and departed. Outside, Crump still looked bowled-over by the encounter. "So, does this mean Mario and Sonic are real too?" he had to ask.

No one even knew how to answer.

xxxx

Serenity restlessly paced the floor, back and forth, unable to hold still. Ms. Kawai sighed, heavily. "Serenity, please settle down. You know your brother said there's nothing you can do right now. And Heaven knows I wish you wouldn't get involved at all."

"I already am involved, Mom, because all of my loved ones are involved!" Serenity insisted. "And if there's some weird plot against businessmen, that means Duke could be in danger too! Even if there's nothing I can do, I really feel I should be with them!"

"They would rather you stay out of danger too," Ms. Kawai said. "And with all these creatures running around town . . . !"

"Most of the Duel Monsters are nice," Serenity said. She headed for the door. "I'm sorry, Mom, I have to go."

"And how will you even find them?" Ms. Kawai exclaimed.

"I'll see if Mai will come get me," Serenity said. "She'll understand." She typed a text as she walked.

Ms. Kawai certainly could have put her foot down and stopped her daughter, but instead she did not. She was proud of Serenity for always being concerned about others, and whether she liked it or not, she knew Serenity really had helped on many bizarre adventures. It was quite a change from the shy, sheltered girl she had raised. And maybe Serenity never would have ended up like that if she hadn't separated her and Joey. Joey had always brought Serenity out of her shell.

She frowned. Joey had also reminded her a lot of her ex-husband in the past. In her angry and hurting state, being reminded of him had been the last thing she had wanted, and the last thing she had thought would be good for Serenity. Was that why she had so readily agreed when the man had wanted them to split the children up?

It had been a cruel and selfish decision, she knew now. It had hurt Serenity so deeply, and she knew it had hurt Joey too. He hadn't even wanted anything to do with her for years because of her taking Serenity away. And with her ex-husband having degraded through the years, she was sure Joey had suffered in many ways from him as well.

So when a car horn honked several minutes later and Serenity bade her mother Goodbye before hurrying outside, Ms. Kawai didn't stop her.

She just watched from the doorway as her daughter went off to help in a serious crisis once again.

xxxx

Mai smiled at Serenity as she hurried out to the car. "Well, Hon, it's good to see you onboard," she said. "We were just heading up to talk to Dartz about the latest developments."

"Uh oh." Serenity climbed into the front, next to a worried Joey. "Do you think he might get controlled by that creepy force too?"

"We're not sure, Sis," Joey said, "and I really wish you weren't coming along for this. Who knows what could happen!"

"That's why I need to come, Joey," Serenity insisted, "in case I can help." She turned to look in the back. "Hi, guys. Where's Duke?"

"Duke went with the group that's talking to Sephiroth about the same problem," Tristan said. He didn't look much more pleased than Joey that Serenity was coming along.

"And I guess Téa did too?" Serenity noted.

"Yeah, she did," Yugi said. He smiled. "But it's good to see you, Serenity."

Serenity smiled. "I'm glad to be here."

Dartz's home was near the canyons. The closer the group got, the more Duel Monsters they encountered flying overhead and roaming up and down the mountains. For the most part, the Duel Monsters seemed to ignore the vehicle and its occupants. Then a loud snort brought them to startled attention.

"What the heck?! It's that thing that chased Serenity in Noa's world!" Tristan cried in horror.

"_WHAT?!"_ Joey yelled. That was one part of their misadventure he hadn't heard about. And as he turned to look, his eyes widened. "It's a Mad Sword Beast! Oh no!"

Serenity paled. "It's coming right at us!"

"Stay calm, boys and girls," Mai interjected. "We can outrun it easily!" She revved the engine and practically flew up the next hill. Tristan and Joey screamed in terror, but whether that was from the Mad Sword Beast's pursuit or Mai's questionable driving wasn't clear. When at last she pulled up in front of Dartz's mansion, the behemoth had long ago fallen far behind.

Joey slumped back in the seat, breathing heavily. "Serenity . . . why didn't you tell me that thing chased you in Noa's world?!" he exclaimed.

"I didn't want to worry you," Serenity gasped back. "Duke and Tristan were both very brave protecting me. I was fine."

"Oh man, and it'll probably still be around when we come back the other way!" Tristan moaned.

"Let's hope not," Yugi said. "They usually have short attention spans, so by then it will have probably found something else to chase."

"Can you guarantee that, Yug?" Joey frowned, closing one eye as he looked to his friend.

". . . No," Yugi admitted.

At that moment the door flew open and Dartz's daughter Chris stood there, looking at them in surprise and concern. "Are you guys alright?!" she exclaimed. "I was upstairs and I saw that monster chasing you!"

"Yeah, we're okay," Joey said, taking a deep breath as he got out of the car. "Uh . . . how's your dad doing?"

"He's okay," Chris said slowly. "Is something wrong? You don't normally come up here. . . ."

"Well . . ." Yugi got out of the car. "I'm afraid something _is_ wrong. Can we speak with him?"

"Sure," Chris said. "Come on in." She held the door open and waited for everyone to come in before shutting the door after them.

Dartz was wandering into the living room as they came in. "Well, hello," he greeted. "I was rather expecting to see you, Yugi, after Duel Monsters entered our dimension again."

"We know you didn't do it, Dartz," Yugi said, "but we're worried that someone may try to involve you."

"And why is that?" Dartz grunted, definitely not looking pleased.

"It's a long and freaky story," Joey said.

"We'll try to explain," Atem said.

And explain they did, while Dartz, Chris, and the rest of the family listened in increasing alarm. Chris petted her wolf, Skye, her eyes wide.

"This certainly is a fine mess," Dartz frowned.

"I wonder if I picked up one of those pieces at an auction I attended last week," Iona said. "Do you have the one Mr. Kaiba . . . stole?"

"The other group has it," Yugi sheepishly admitted. "There was another businessman in town we wanted to warn too, so they took the piece in case he was already being controlled and had a piece and the one they have could sense it. But . . ." He held out the heavy book. "It would be a piece of this statue."

Iona studied it. "I'm sure there was something that could be one of those pieces in an old trunk I bought! I'll go get it." She got up and hurried out of the room.

"Mom likes antiquing," Chris explained to the group. "It makes her feel kind of nostalgic, even though of course she never finds any pieces from Atlantis."

"I see," Atem said.

"Coming to think of it, I wonder how Croquet is doing with Pegasus," Yugi exclaimed. "He's never checked back in."

"Maybe Pegasus found him and drained his life force?" Joey gulped.

"Maybe," Yugi said slowly. "But maybe the reason he fired Croquet was because he was afraid he might hurt him and he didn't want that to happen."

"It's nice to think that, at least," Tristan said.

"The Bakuras were going to find Croquet in case he needed back-up, and they haven't checked in either," Mai frowned.

"I'm going to text Bakura," Yugi decided, and quickly started tapping out a message.

Iona returned while he was typing. "Here it is," she said. "Does this look like it could be part of what you're looking for?"

Atem took it and turned it around in his hands. "Yes, it does," he frowned. "It looks like it could be part of the statue's back."

"Well, please take it," Iona said. "If that force has any inkling that we have it, it might try to control Dartz to get it. Of course, I'm sure he could resist it now," she added, "but I don't want him to have to suffer."

Dartz nodded. "Take it, with our blessing. I'll start doing some research and see if I can learn whether any of the other pieces have turned up."

"That would be a big help," Yugi said, looking up from his phone. "Thanks."

They soon departed and climbed back into Mai's car.

"So, how are we going to know if this is another piece?" Serenity wondered.

"When we meet up with Kaiba's group again, we can see if the pieces react to each other," Yugi said. "And I'm not getting a reply from Bakura. Oh no, what could be going on there?!"

Tristan sighed. "With our luck, almost anything."

xxxx

Yami Bakura was deep in thought as he drove to the hotel where Pegasus was registered. Bakura shifted uneasily in the passenger seat.

"Maybe I shouldn't have pointed out about someone checking on Croquet," he worried. "I don't like to think of trying to confront Pegasus all by ourselves in his state. What if his artifact can overpower the Ring and you end up hurt?"

Yami Bakura grunted. "I had better not."

He pulled up at the hotel and they got out.

"I'm glad we went back home for the van and left Oreo there," Bakura said nervously. "I hate to think what Pegasus might do to her."

Yami Bakura reached into his pocket for his deck. That was something he most certainly didn't want to be without to confront a madman. Now that he knew the Infinity Ring would allow him to render the cards' powers real, that was another weapon he could use against their enemies.

They stepped into the hotel lobby. Croquet was nowhere to be seen, but the desk clerk looked up boredly at them. "May I help you?" he asked, almost in a monotone.

"We want Maximillion Pegasus," Yami Bakura said.

Bakura cringed at the lack of manners.

The desk clerk looked like he couldn't care less. "Room 402. He's popular tonight."

"Someone else came to see him?" Bakura exclaimed. "How long ago?"

"Oh . . . thirty minutes or so," the desk clerk said. "Go right on up."

"Thank you very much!" Bakura said. "Let's go, Yami."

Yami Bakura grunted and headed for the elevator. Bakura hurried after him.

"So, Croquet has been here for thirty minutes?" Yami Bakura growled once they had the privacy of the elevator. "The way Pegasus is right now, I highly doubt that's good news."

Bakura swallowed hard. "You think we'll go and find him on the floor, like Bandit Keith was?"

"It would be foolish to discount the possibility," Yami Bakura said. "And Pegasus might not even be here. He could have escaped out a back way, not wanting his departure to be publicly known for whatever reason. He might be going to look for the other pieces of the statue."

"Oh dear," Bakura worried.

The elevator stopped and they got out. Yami Bakura walked ahead, determined not to allow this madness to hurt Bakura if there was any way to prevent it.

The door was standing ajar when they arrived. Swearing under his breath, Yami Bakura ran over to see what had happened. Fearing the worst, Bakura followed.

Croquet was leaning heavily against the wall, breathing heavily. Pegasus was nowhere in sight.

"What happened?!" Yami Bakura demanded.

"I . . . I don't know," Croquet gasped. "We talked . . . argued. . . . But I must have broke through to Master Pegasus somewhat; he tried to drain my energy and suddenly stopped in horror. Then he ran out while I was still weak."

"You'd best come and sit down," Bakura said in concern. He reached to take Croquet's arm.

"How long ago did he leave?" Yami Bakura growled.

"Maybe ten, fifteen minutes ago," Croquet said.

"Then he must have drained a good deal of your energy before he stopped," Yami Bakura said.

"He did," Croquet admitted. "But he _did_ stop. Maybe if we can find him again, he'll have completely broke free, like Mr. Kaiba."

"Oh, that would be wonderful," Bakura exclaimed. He guided Croquet to the couch and eased him down.

"I wouldn't count on it," Yami Bakura grunted. "Did he give any indication of where any of the other statue pieces are?"

"Yes," Croquet said. "He said there were several in the immediate area and the others were farther away. He said something about contacting Siegfried von Schroeder."

"Then at least one of them must be in Germany!" Bakura cried. "And maybe this force will try to control Siegfried to take it!"

Yami Bakura growled. "You'd better text the others."

Bakura nodded and took out his phone.

xxxx

Mokuba, meanwhile, had finally received an answering text from Leonhard just as his group was returning to Gansley's house. "Oh no!" he exclaimed.

Everyone jerked to attention. "What is it?!" Seto asked.

"Leon says Siegfried's been acting weird and he just brought home some weird gold thing!" Mokuba moaned.

"Oh joy." Marik laid a hand on Mokuba's shoulder.

". . . So that means somebody's going to Germany?" Crump cringed.

"Probably." Seto held a hand to his forehead. Seeing Siegfried was one of the last things he wanted to do. On the other hand, he wanted to see this force succeed even less.

"Leon also says that some weird German art collector guy might have another piece," Mokuba continued. "A . . . Francis von . . . Tassle?"

Duke and David both paled. "No, that's impossible!" Duke cried. "He's dead!"

Seto quirked an eyebrow. "You know him?"

"Let's just say we had some unpleasant and unforgettable encounters with him," David said. "I'm sure you'll read all about it in Snakes' book."

". . . Oh." Seto made a face. From the way David said it, he could tell that magic was involved.

"We should probably stay here, shouldn't we?" Crump said, looking to the rest of the Big Five. "With your family and all, Gansley. . . ."

"Actually, it might be better for us to all get away," Gansley pointed out. "The Rare Hunters now know that Peter Bracken is my son."

"But there's no point in us bringing him in when Master Keith is lying at death's door and may never wake up."

Everyone jumped a mile. Lumis and Umbra were stepping out of the shadows, Gansley's chauffeur being prodded along with them.

"Thank you for warning me about this," Gansley said dryly to his employee.

The chauffeur flamed red. "I'm sorry, sir. They caught me watching them in the hospital waiting room. I guess I'm not cut out for the spy business."

Lector looked at the Rare Hunter team warily. "What are you two proposing?"

"A truce," Umbra said. "We want to find out what happened to our master. This man said you know." He shoved the chauffeur forward at Gansley.

Gansley reached to steady him as he stumbled. "We have an idea," he said. "Which is very likely the truth."

"We're 99.9% sure it is," Crump said.

"But what makes you think we'd ever trust you to team up with us?" Seto frowned. "You've given us no reason to trust you."

Lector nodded. "Once the problem is solved, you'll likely try again to take Gansley's son."

"I'm afraid I don't trust either of you," Gansley said. "I most certainly don't want you in close proximity to my grandchildren."

"If you come, you'll probably be coming as our prisoners," Seto said. "Not to mention, you'd be jumping bail, and that would get all of us into trouble for helping you."

Umbra cringed, and he and Lumis exchanged a look. "Alright, nevermind," he said. "But we want to know what you find out!"

"If we solve the problem, your boss should wake up," Seto pointed out.

"True," Lumis agreed. "Very well. Goodnight!" They disappeared back into the shadows.

". . . That was weird," David said.

"And I'm sure they're not going to take No for an answer," Duke said. "I'm betting that when we leave, they'll follow us."

No one disagreed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

The next hours were a whirlwind of confusion. Everyone had to pack as quickly as possible while Seto arranged for one of his private jets to be ready to take the group to Germany. And even as all this was going on, some weren't sure it was the best course of action.

"We really shouldn't all go," Yugi said to Atem. "What if there's still more pieces in town and Pegasus finds them?" He absently reached and took a shirt that Kuriboh was holding out for him.

"That's a good point, Yugi," Atem frowned. "Although Kaiba has his security guards looking for Pegasus, and Croquet and Dartz and the bikers and even your grandfather have promised to stay alert." He watched as Kuriboh floated over to him now with a belt.

"Yeah. . . . But maybe someone with magic needs to stay behind to help too," Yugi said slowly.

"Well, the Big Five want to all stay together and go, and Mokuba wants to go for Leon's sake, so Kaiba is going," Atem said, taking the belt. "That would leave either me or Yami Bakura."

Yugi nodded. "I'd like for us to stay together too, and I felt like I needed to go," he said, "but I wonder if we should stay. . . ."

"Or I could stay and you could go, Yugi," Atem said. "I know you would do fine."

"We have no particular interest in going to Germany, Pharaoh," Yami Bakura said suddenly from the bedroom doorway. "Bakura and I will stay."

They both jumped.

"Are you sure?" Yugi asked.

"Yes," Bakura nodded. "Yami had the same idea, that a magic user should stay here to watch over the city when Pegasus is still at large."

"How did you get in?" Atem frowned.

"Through the door," Yami Bakura said with a cheeky smirk. "We talked it over and decided, and felt we should come tell you before you made other arrangements."

"Well, thanks, you two," Yugi said.

"Everything will be just fine," Solomon said, coming up behind the Bakuras. "I've also reached Alexander Brisbane and he's flying right out."

"Oh good," Yugi smiled. "Does he know anything about the statue?"

"Not really, but he thought he should be on hand to see what develops," Solomon said.

"Um . . ." Yugi shifted, hesitating. "Are we sure Alexander the Great's bad side was destroyed? We sure don't want him coming over. . . ."

Yami Bakura snorted. "You can't destroy someone's bad side. Look at that demon; he still exists. Rest assured, that part of Alexander the Great's spirit is out there somewhere."

"You're not instilling us with confidence," Atem frowned.

"It's something you need to know, isn't it?" Yami Bakura retorted, folding his arms.

"It sure is," Yugi sighed. "I just hope he hasn't been living dormant in Dr. Brisbane's body. . . ."

"I'm sure he hasn't," Solomon said. "But we'll be here to deal with it if he is." He glanced at the clock. "Now, you two had better run along. You know how Kaiba hates to be kept waiting."

"Okay." Yugi smiled. "Thanks, Grampa." He picked up his suitcase and hurried to the door. "You guys be careful!"

"We will," Bakura assured him, stepping aside to let Atem pass. "All of you be careful as well!"

Atem nodded. "Thank you. We will certainly try."

Kuriboh chirped and waved to the Bakuras as he bounced past.

Yami Bakura grunted. "I wonder why that hairball doesn't hate me."

"I guess he's had more time to get used to the idea of you being good," Bakura said.

"Heh. I suppose," Yami Bakura said.

xxxx

It wasn't until everyone who was going got on the plane that there was really any chance to relax, and even then, some of them still couldn't.

"I don't like this," Duke said to David and Serenity. "We're going to have to meet Francis von Tassle again. I thought he was done for when the tomb collapsed in Egypt!"

"I guess he's more slippery than a cobra," David frowned. "But we could have stayed back with the Bakuras. I don't like the thought of you meeting him again either, Duke."

Duke sighed. "Unfortunately, since we're the only ones here who have met him, we figured we needed to come along to help the others. It sounds like he's gone right back to his old tricks of collecting dangerous magical artifacts."

"It's going to be fine, guys," Serenity insisted. "We beat him before. And this time we've got so many of the gang by our side!"

"While he's got a magic item that can do who knows what," Duke said through clenched teeth. "All of the pieces can steal energy, but maybe they all have their own unique powers too."

Yugi looked up with a start. "That's a really good point, Duke. I didn't even think about that!"

"Maybe we should start writing down all the freaky powers that Reshef had in the Capsule Monsters game, Yug," Joey said. "Then we might have some idea what we're up against!"

"It's also possible it had other powers we didn't see," Yugi worried.

"What I remember is that laser arsenal," Tristan spoke up. "That wasn't something you see on a Duel Monster every day."

"There was also that horrible power of sacrificing the other players' monsters to give himself even more power," Téa said.

"And of course, sacrificing the other players' energy as well," Atem said darkly. "I had hoped we would never have to encounter that being again."

"Kuri," Kuriboh commiserated.

"Did he have to come along too?" Gansley grunted.

Kuriboh glared at him. "Kuri."

"He's really latched on to us while he's here," Yugi said. "He didn't want to stay behind."

"It's too bad we didn't pick up any of our Duel Monsters," Crump said. "I wonder if any of them came over."

"If they did, I'm sure you'll find them eventually," Seto retorted.

Mokuba looked down. He had told Leonhard that they were coming and asked him to try to keep Siegfried there if he could; they didn't need him collecting any other pieces. Leonhard had said he would try, but he doubted his brother would listen. Mokuba had told him to be careful.

Was Leonhard really in danger? It was hard to say how far the force would go in attacking anyone in its way. He wanted to believe that Siegfried was strong enough to get on top of it if it wanted to harm Leonhard, but could they really afford to believe it?

"Man, it'll take hours to get there," Tristan said. He unwittingly voiced Mokuba's fears when he added, "Can Leon really hold that guy at bay for so long?"

"We'll have to hope so," Seto said harshly. "Meanwhile, since there's nothing we can do until we arrive, I suggest all of us try to get some sleep."

That sounded like a good idea, so many of them leaned back in their seats to do exactly that.

"You should try to sleep too, Seto," Mokuba said.

"I will," Seto promised. He'd try, that is. He wouldn't be surprised if it wouldn't work.

"Hey, I didn't think about it before, but did you guys ever meet Siegfried?" Joey asked the Big Five.

"Occasionally, at social functions," Lector said. "Mostly we met his father."

"So we are definitely familiar with the family," Gansley said. "After all, they were KaibaCorp's biggest rivals in both weapon construction and gaming."

"What was the guy like?" Joey wondered.

"Can anyone really know what somebody is like if they only encounter them at social functions?" Lector said. "Naturally they will try to put their best foot forward."

"Well . . ." Joey shrugged. "You must have some idea."

"What he really means is, was the dad as big of a jerk as Siegfried himself," Tristan said.

"I had the impression that he was a very hard man," Lector said. "But I also felt he truly cared about his son. However, I am not the best judge of character regarding fathers, am I?"

Crump sighed sadly. Lector was of course still hurting about his own father's betrayal. And, perhaps, also thinking on how Gozaburo had turned out to be so much different, negatively speaking, than Lector had believed.

Gansley silently laid a hand on Lector's shoulder.

xxxx

The flight was long and mostly dull. Most of the group managed to sleep, even just for a short while, and Gansley ended up reading more books to his grandchildren. But by the time the plane finally landed at Siegfried's private landing strip, everyone was more than ready to get off.

"I hope Leon will have a welcoming committee!" Joey exclaimed. He jumped down from the stairs onto the concrete and discovered Brunhilde looking at him from her horse. He yelped in horror and fell back.

"Oh great," Seto scowled as he came to the doorway. "So at least some of Siegfried's precious Valkyries are here."

Brunhilde, at least, didn't seem about to attack any of them. Instead she turned and started off towards the castle.

"Maybe we're supposed to follow her," Mokuba said. "If she knows something's wrong with Siegfried, maybe she's glad to see us and wants us to help him."

"I can think of a lot better ways to show you're glad to see someone!" Joey sputtered.

"Guys!" Now Leonhard was running out of the castle and over to the air strip. "I'm really glad to see all of you!"

"Now that's a good way," Joey said. He waved. "Hey, Leon!"

Mokuba hurried past Joey. "Leon! What's going on now?"

"I wasn't able to stop Siegfried from going out to get a second artifact," Leonhard said regretfully.

"Wait, so he has von Tassle's piece now?!" Duke exclaimed. He quickly got out of the plane and went over, followed by the rest of the large group.

"Well, he went to try to get it," Leonhard said. "I'm afraid he'll either get hurt or else he'll hurt von Tassle and get arrested! It's not like the police would believe he's possessed by some weird force!"

"Alright. Then we have to go there right now," Yugi said. "How long ago did he leave?"

"Just five minutes ago," Leonhard said. "I held him off for as long as I could, and the Valkyries tried to help too, but finally he just ran out! We might be able to catch up to him if we go right now."

"There's no time to waste," Atem said. "Let's take some of the limousines and go."

"Too bad Kaiba's Blue Eyes isn't here," Joey said. "It wouldn't move as fast as the plane, but it's probably faster than the cars. Or at least, it'd cover a bigger range faster in the city. . . ."

"She'll be along when she can," Seto said, "but we can't wait for her to catch up."

Leonhard nodded. "There should be enough limousines for everyone, and the Valkyries will probably follow us in the sky. Come on!" He ran around the side of the castle. Everyone else chased after him.

"The three of you should stay here, at the castle," Gansley said to Peter and the children. "This could be dangerous."

"Aww! But we wanna help!" Charlie protested.

"Now, your grandfather is making a good point," Peter said. "The last thing we need is even more trouble." He stared at the castle. "But is it really alright for us to just hole up in there?!"

"Sure!" Leonhard called over his shoulder. "Mokuba told me about you guys. Just go in and talk to the servants. They already know too!"

"And I guess if we can't help Sieggy break free, we all go to a hotel instead?" Joey said.

"Let's figure that out if or when it happens," Seto grunted.

They reached the limousines and started to pile into them. Gansley was just climbing into one with the others when Amber hurried over and hugged him around the waist. "Be careful, Grandpa," she said plaintively.

Surprised and touched, Gansley returned the gesture. "I'll be as careful as I can be," he promised.

Amber pouted. "That'd better mean a lot."

"We'll see that it does," Nesbitt interjected.

That brought a smile. "Okay!" Amber stepped back, watching them get into the car.

As all the vehicles drove off, Peter sighed to himself and laid his hands on his children's shoulders. Hopefully they would all be safe.

xxxx

No one knew what to expect as they followed Duke's directions to Francis von Tassle's home. When they arrived and found Siegfried and von Tassle in a duel in the yard, each brandishing his piece of the statue, they stared in horror.

"Oh my gosh!" Téa exclaimed. "What do we do?!"

As they landed, Siegfried's Valkyries seemed confused as well. They wanted to help and protect their master, yet they didn't want to help the force controlling him get more statue pieces.

Atem leaped out of the car, soon followed by the others. "Von Schroeder! Von Tassle! You're playing with forces you don't understand!"

Siegfried turned to look at him, his eyes cold and yet filled with a madness. "And who asked you?" He sneered. "I understand it very well, as a matter of fact."

"And so do I," said von Tassle. "Although unlike Herr von Schroeder, I am actually in my right mind."

"Elder brother!" Leonhard ran out of the limousine and over to Siegfried. "Come on, please! You don't want to do this!"

"Oh? You are such an expert on what I do and do not want to do?" Siegfried mocked.

Leonhard flinched, but quickly replied, "Yes, when it comes to something like this! You don't have any interest in putting together some old statue and reviving an ancient dark being! You want to make video games!"

Siegfried brushed his hair over his shoulder. "Then I would say my ambitions have greatly risen, because right now I _do _want to put together this old statue and revive the ancient dark being!" He held up his artifact, which was blinking off and on as it reacted to von Tassle's and Téa's artifacts.

Seto growled. "As much as I never thought I'd say this, von Schroeder, you're not yourself. You're being controlled by some unknown force. I know because it's been trying to control me as well. In fact . . ." He clenched his teeth and brought a hand to his head. "It's probably been dormant while we've been traveling, but now that there are even more pieces of that thing, it's trying to take control again!"

"Seto, no!" Mokuba wailed. "You've gotta fight it!"

Seto stumbled back. "I'd better stay in the car. I'll only be a hindrance."

"I know you can fight this, Kaiba!" Téa cried.

"Maybe so, but it only makes sense for me to . . . stay away from all these statue pieces," Seto growled. He dove into the limousine and hunched forward, gripping at his head with both hands.

Mokuba watched helplessly. "Seto . . ."

"Aren't we forgetting the main event here?" von Tassle interjected. "We're in a battle for these statue pieces. And once I've won Herr von Schroeder's, I will be coming after the rest of you, if you have any. I'm guessing you do, or you wouldn't have any idea what's going on here, and you clearly do."

"Not gonna happen, von Tassle." Duke stepped forward, eyes narrowed.

"You again?" von Tassle scowled. "And I see your little girlfriend and your store manager are still with you. Such a pity about that friend of yours my men shot down in the temple."

Everyone other than David and Serenity started and looked to Duke in shock, who just glared back at von Tassle. "Actually, he's alive," he shot back. "I was talking to Snakes just recently." He smirked. "He's not so easy to kill."

Von Tassle's scowl deepened. "Well, nevermind. That's not important anyway." He turned and blasted at Siegfried. "This, on the other hand, is!"

Siegfried snarled and countered with a blast of his own. The magic collided in mid-air. "You will not stop me," he vowed. "I will drain your life energy and take your piece of the statue!"

"You must both stop this now!" Atem ordered. He ran in between them. "Von Schroeder, I know we haven't ever seen eye to eye, but you wanted to repent of your wrongdoings! You begged your brother's forgiveness! I know that deep down, the real you doesn't want to do this!"

"You are such a fool, Pharaoh." Siegfried aimed the next blast at him.

Atem put up his shield courtesy of the Infinity Puzzle. "That's another thing," he said. "You never knew about me! It's obvious that this is the force talking through you!"

Von Tassle watched boredly. As Atem's shield came down, he decided to try a new tactic. He blasted at Atem himself.

"Atem!" Yugi cried. He leaped up, grabbing von Tassle's arm and knocking the beam off-balance.

Von Tassle's eyes flamed. "You little runt!" He shook his arm, desperate to dislodge Yugi. Instead, several others ran over to help restrain him.

"You are _not_ getting away with this," Duke said.

Atem spun around, staring at the scene. "Yugi!" He took a step forward.

"Auf Wiedersehen, Pharaoh," Siegfried mockingly said. He moved to blast again.

"Kuri!" Kuriboh shrieked. He was suddenly in Siegfried's face.

"You irritating fuzzball!" Siegfried yelled, batting him away.

Finally von Tassle managed to throw Yugi off. The boy cried out as he crashed to the grass.

Atem's eyes flamed. "You _will_ regret that!"

With von Tassle distracted, David reached and pulled the statue piece out of his hand. "You won't need this where you're going," he smiled.

Von Tassle swore at him.

It was then that a flash of light erupted from the middle of the yard. As everyone stared in shock, the light faded to reveal a very angry Magician of Black Chaos.

"Hey, is that yours, Atem?" Joey asked.

The Magician responded by sending out a shockwave blast that knocked the entire group off their feet.

"I think it's safe to say it's not!" Atem cried. He got up, his Infinity Puzzle glowing insistently.

"So why's he so ticked off?!" Joey yelped.

"Maybe we disturbed his nap?" Crump suggested.

"He's going to blast us again!" Téa cried. "We're going to have to all work together to beat him! That means you guys too!" She looked to Siegfried and von Tassle, neither of whom were impressed.

"Why should we do that?" Siegfried sneered. "While all of you deal with him, we will continue our battle for the statue pieces."

"That's foolish!" Atem exclaimed. "You could use the magic of those pieces to fight him!"

The Magician of Black Chaos pointed his staff and blasted a gaping hole in the ground right in front of him.

"Hey, you big creep! Atem's not the bad guy here!" Joey snapped, shaking a fist.

"I have to admit, I always wondered how a Duel Monster called the Magician of Black Chaos could be a good guy," Tristan said.

"No kidding," Crump said. "I mean, what's good about black chaos?!"

"It looks like we'll have to try to help fighting it off with our rings," Gansley said.

"And what if they don't activate?!" Nesbitt countered.

"If they activate when there are dangers threatening the entire world, you would think this qualifies," Gansley countered.

Lector held up his ring and it glowed a deep purple. "You're right."

Gansley nodded in approval. "Then let's do this."

"We're probably gonna need Kaiba's help too," Crump worried. "And maybe we'll regret not having Yami Bakura come with us. . . ."

"I'm sure there are magical disasters happening back in Domino City as well," Gansley said. "Someone needed to stay back to monitor them."

The limousine door opened and Seto stepped out. "I'll help you with this," he said. He still looked worried, fearing that the force would take control of him with other statue pieces in the vicinity, but he steeled himself and held out his Light ring.

Atem nodded in approval. "Then let's go."

Everyone else backed away to allow the magic users to deal with the new threat. But to everyone's frustration, they seemed to be evenly matched. Every blast they tried collided and canceled in mid-air. The Valkyries' combined power couldn't damage the Magician either.

"Alright," Seto growled. "There's only one thing left to do. We have to summon our signature monsters."

"And hope that they're available," Johnson said in concern. "They might not even still be in their dimension to come through the portal."

They quickly brought their rings together. A bright glow enveloped the sky and Blue Eyes White Dragon and Five-Headed Dragon soared out, roaring at the Magician of Black Chaos. He backed up, not having expected that.

Seto sneered. "Both of these monsters have higher attack power than he does. He knows he's finished."

The Magician wasn't willing to concede, however. He sent out one final blast, which was quickly overtaken by the dragons' attacks. The explosion of power once again knocked everyone back, including Siegfried and von Tassle.

Siegfried immediately jumped up again. "Alright, that is _it!_" His eyes filled with rage, he blasted at the Big Five, Seto, and anyone else in range.

Leonhard stood and watched the chaos, the helplessness standing in his eyes. "Siegfried . . ." He looked to his brother, who was continuing to blast at anything that moved. The force controlling him was no doubt growing more unhinged and more desperate to gather the pieces as it looked more and more unlikely that he would be able to. Finally Leonhard made a decision. "Siegfried, no!" He deliberately ran out into the path of the next blast.

Siegfried wavered, his eyes flickering back to their normal green. "Leonhard . . . ?!" He fell back in horror. There was nothing he could do to stop the blast.

Atem grabbed Leonhard at the last second, dragging him to the grass. But that left him exposed to the force of the blast.

Only it never hit him.

Atem looked up in shock at the sound of a pained grunt. A heavy body fell into the grass beside him and lay still. "Gansley?!"

Siegfried had fallen into the grass as well, looking oddly dazed. He groaned, the statue piece falling from his hand.

Leonhard immediately scrambled up and ran over to him. "Siegfried?! Are you alright?!"

Siegfried squinted, looking up at him. "I believe so. . . . But I almost hurt you. . . ."

"I'm fine." Leonhard looked over in horror. "But someone else isn't!"

Siegfried stared. He hadn't even noticed that Gansley had fallen until now. "I did that?!" he gasped.

"Something controlling you did," Leonhard cried. "Is he okay?!" he asked Atem.

Atem pushed Gansley onto his back. "I don't know. . . ."

Now everyone else was starting to realize what had happened. "Gansley!" Crump screamed.

Gansley slowly opened his eyes as the Big Four and Yugi and the rest of the group ran over. He wasn't even fully sure he remembered what had happened. Something about protecting the Pharaoh and his Earth ring activating, and being hit by the blast from Siegfried at the same moment Siegfried was struck by his attack.

"Kuri?!" Kuriboh exclaimed, floating above him.

"What happened?!" Johnson cried.

"Gansley saved me from Siegfried's blast," Atem said, his heart heavy. "I don't know what kind of damage it did to him."

Nesbitt reached Gansley first and crashed to his knees next to him. "You are not dying again!" he said fiercely. "We won't let you!"

"I won't die," Gansley promised. "Although I'll admit at the moment I'm not sure how I'm going to live. . . ." He grimaced.

"We'll take care of that," Crump said, but inwardly he was panicking. Gansley had been hit by dark magic. How could they fix that?! Apparently everyone else who had been victims of the statue's power was still in very bad shape.

Atem laid a hand on Gansley's shoulder. "You fought valiantly and you saved my life. Thank you, my friend." His voice was taut.

Lector grabbed Gansley's hand, checking for a pulse. It was slowing down, but steady.

"Kuri?" Kuriboh was hovering closer to Gansley now, his eyes actually sad.

That was something Gansley had never thought he would see. Of course, he had also never thought he would do this. "Heh. . . ." He reached up with his free hand, laying it gently on top of Kuriboh. When his eyes closed and he fell limp, the hand started to slip back down.

"Kuri . . ." Kuriboh took it between his front claws and cried.

"Oh Gansley. . . ." Atem bowed his head, praying they could keep him alive.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Francis von Tassle actually seemed shaken by all the commotion, especially the arrival of the renegade Magician of Black Chaos and Siegfried madly blasting everything. But he pulled away from his captors, turning to glower at them as he did.

"Well, you have my statue piece," he said, "and you're on my property. There's nothing I can be charged with, so I suggest all of you just leave."

"We're going to," Atem replied, his voice clipped and cold. "But answer us one thing first. Where did you find your statue piece?"

"At the flea market," von Tassle grunted. "And I promise you that is the truth. There weren't any others in the vicinity; I made sure to look."

"Alright." Atem stepped back. "Thank you."

Leonhard was also badly shaken as he took in the scene, but for a different reason. "This is my fault," he whispered in horror. "I just wanted to help Siegfried, and I thought if I ran out in front of the blast he'd snap out of it, but I didn't want anyone else to get hurt!"

Atem sighed. "You were very brave, Leon, but of course I couldn't allow you to be hurt."

"And Gansley wasn't gonna stand by and let you get hurt," Crump said.

Lector clenched a fist. "He was blasting Mr. von Schroeder with his ring. Why wasn't that enough to knock Mr. von Schroeder's blast off course?!"

"I don't know," Atem said, his heart heavy.

"He's still alive, isn't he?!" Johnson exclaimed.

"Yes," Lector said, "but I don't know how badly hurt he is. We need to get him out of here."

Siegfried stumbled to his feet, really studying the Big Five for the first time. "Wait, aren't you Herr Kaiba's board of directors?" he remembered.

"Not anymore," Nesbitt grunted.

"Yes, you all betrayed him," Siegfried said. "But now you're working with him as his allies?"

"We kissed and made up," Crump said sarcastically. "Honestly, we've got better things to do right now than explain why we're here to you!" He reached down to try to lift Gansley. Lector, Nesbitt, and Johnson immediately came to assist.

Leonhard looked up at Siegfried. "Mr. Gansley's family is already at the castle, Siegfried," he explained. "Well . . . his biological family, I mean. Can everybody else stay there too? Just for now," he quickly added.

Siegfried frowned. "I really don't understand any of what has happened," he said. "Shouldn't that man be in a hospital?"

"They wouldn't know how to help him," Lector said. "Although I'm afraid none of us do either. . . ." They managed to lift Gansley onto the seat of the nearest limousine and Lector knelt on the floor beside him, again checking his pulse.

Siegfried sighed and turned away, massaging his forehead. "Very well then. Of course, the castle is open to all of you. I almost seriously injured my brother. How can I not do what I can in the aftermath of this catastrophe?"

"Thank you," Atem said.

Téa suddenly remembered Siegfried's statue piece, forgotten in all the chaos. She rescued it from the grass, studying it along with the other pieces she had.

"We have four pieces now," Yugi said as he came up beside her. "Kaiba's, Iona's, Siegfried's, and von Tassle's."

"And Pegasus still has one," Téa moaned.

"That means there's three unaccounted for," Tristan frowned.

"And who else might get hurt before all of this is over?" Téa worried, watching the Big Four all crowding around Gansley.

"More of us, if we're holing up in Siegfried's castle," Tristan muttered. "We've got what we needed. Shouldn't we just go home?"

"I don't know if Gansley should be moved that far," Atem frowned. "Let's at least wait until Kaiba's medics have examined him back at the plane."

"When the Neo-Orichalcos was causing trouble last year, we traveled with a lot of the injured people onboard," Tristan remembered.

"Yeah, but I don't know if these injuries are the same as those," Yugi said. He bit his lip. "Although I'd really like to go home too. . . ."

"We just want whatever is best for Gansley," Lector said, looking over. "So we can either stay or go."

Seto nodded. "We'll see what my doctors say and go from there. Although they probably won't be able to figure anything out, due to the way this happened." He scowled. "They're always baffled by magical injuries, just like any normal person would be."

Everyone climbed into the various limousines, their hearts heavy and filled with concern. Mokuba wanted to ride with the Big Five, so Seto and Téa went with him into that vehicle. The procession was soon heading back the way they had come.

"I'm so sorry, guys," Mokuba said sadly. "I'm sure Gansley will be okay. . . ."

"I certainly hope so," Lector said. He was still gripping Gansley's hand, not sure what to think or do. Gansley was their beloved friend and brother and leader . . . and more of a father in Lector's eyes than his own father had been. He couldn't stand that Gansley had just been shot down without Lector able to do a thing about it. He should have been able to _do_ something!

"Oh no!" Crump suddenly gasped. "The kids . . . !"

Lector looked sickened at that realization. Indeed, Amber and Charlie would be heartbroken. And Peter would no doubt be horrified as well.

"There's nothing we can do about that," he said at last. "They'll have to know what's happened."

"Yeah. . . ." Crump looked down. "But I still feel awful for them anyway. . . ."

Nesbitt abruptly slammed his fist into the inside of the car door. "I told them we'd protect him!" he snarled. "I said that, and look what happened! None of us were able to stop this! . . . _I_ wasn't able to stop this. . . ." He leaned forward in despair.

"Gansley always tries to protect all of us," Johnson said quietly. "It all happened so fast. . . ."

"If that blasted Magician of Black Chaos hadn't shown up . . . !" Nesbitt straightened, glowering out the window.

"Yeah, what really was the deal with that thing?!" Crump exclaimed.

"I would imagine just what Gansley said before, that there is one Duel Monster for every copy of the card that exists," Lector grunted. "Obviously that particular Magician of Black Chaos wasn't our ally." And he really didn't care that much. All he cared about was that Gansley was hurt, and that indeed, none of them had been able to stop it or help him.

He gripped Gansley's hand tighter. He felt so helpless. And in Gansley's absence, he had to take over as leader. He dreaded that on multiple levels. He knew he hadn't done well as the leader during their misadventure in that cold-hearted Shadow Game. And after all the stress that had piled on him during their two trips to New Orleans, he really wasn't sure he could take it at all if Nesbitt got upset with his decisions again.

Crump gripped his shoulder and he looked up with a start. Crump was looking at him in concern and understanding. "It's gonna be fine, Buddy," he said softly.

Lector wasn't sure of that at all, and he doubted Crump was—although Crump would probably tell himself he was sure because he just couldn't deal with it otherwise. In any case, he was grateful.

"Thank you, my friend," he said. "Thank you. . . ."

"It's gotta be fine," Crump all but whispered as he hugged Lector close.

xxxx

Yami Bakura was tense. He, Bakura, and Solomon were at Domino International Airport, waiting for Dr. Alexander Brisbane's plane to land. He remembered the man; he had witnessed all of the goings-on with Capsule Monsters due to his shadow in the Millennium Puzzle at the time. It had been a strange experience, and eerie when Alexander the Great had spoken of his time of owning the Millennium Ring. Yami Bakura remembered that too, although he had not come out or even been responsible for the disaster with Alexander's soul splitting into his good side and his bad side. That, he assumed, had happened because Alexander hadn't been strong enough to withstand the dark powers of the Ring.

Not that Yami Bakura had fared much better.

"It's here!" Solomon exclaimed, breaking into his thoughts. "The passengers are disembarking now!" He hurried forward, searching the crowds for his friend. "Alex!"

Finally a cultured voice exclaimed, "Dr. Muto!" and Alexander Brisbane made his way through the confusion. "Have you learned anything new?" he asked as they met.

"Really, Alex, not even a Hello first?" Solomon playfully chuckled.

Dr. Brisbane rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I've been so worried about what's happening. . . ."

"Now, now, so have we," Solomon said. "There's no need to apologize." He looked to the Bakuras, who were coming over. "This is Ryou Bakura and Yami Bakura. Er, the official story is that they're cousins, but they're actually far more distantly related."

Dr. Brisbane blinked in surprise. "I see. Hello, both of you. I'm glad to meet you. Ryou Bakura, is it? I've worked with your father on occasion."

Bakura perked up. "You have?!" he exclaimed. This was certainly something he had not expected!

"Yes. He always speaks very highly of you," Dr. Brisbane told him.

"Has he ever said anything about me?" Yami Bakura smirked.

"He . . ." Now Dr. Brisbane looked even more embarrassed. He cleared his throat and looked away. "Well, what about this statue mess, Dr. Muto?"

Amused, Solomon said, "Yugi and his friends have at least two pieces. They may have more when they reach Germany; they're tracking down two others."

"Unfortunately, Pegasus is still at large with his statue piece," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Oh dear," Dr. Brisbane frowned. "There's been no trace of him at all?"

"None, I'm afraid," Bakura said. "His assistant is very worried and is looking everywhere. I don't think he's stopped looking since he recovered from Pegasus try to drain some of his energy. Pegasus abruptly stopped in apparent horror and ran out."

"So are we to join the search?" Dr. Brisbane asked.

"Until we hear otherwise, that's probably all we can do," Solomon said.

"And stay alert in case there are any more statue pieces in town," Yami Bakura added. "If there are, Pegasus will likely go to them sooner or later. If there are not, he will no doubt look elsewhere for them."

"How would he have any idea where to look?" Dr. Brisbane exclaimed.

"Maybe he wouldn't," Yami Bakura shot back. "In which case he might just wander aimlessly all over the globe."

Bakura cringed. "Oh dear. . . . What will we do about Oreo if we have to leave town?"

"Either get the bikers to look after her or take her with us," Yami Bakura grunted. "She's been along on other catastrophes."

"I know," Bakura said slowly.

"Who's Oreo?" Dr. Brisbane wondered.

"Our tuxedo cat," Bakura said.

"Oh. I see," said Dr. Brisbane. "Yes, you would worry about her being in the middle of all this chaos."

"She'll be fine," Yami Bakura said. Sneering, he added, "It's anyone who messes with her who should worry."

"Well, I need to put my luggage in my hotel room, but then we can start looking for Pegasus," Dr. Brisbane said. "Maybe you should check in with this assistant of his to see if he's learned anything?"

"Yes, that's a good idea," Bakura said, and hurried to get out his phone. He quickly typed a short message to Croquet and then watched the screen, waiting for a reply, as they headed for the van.

In a few minutes the screen lit up with the reply.

_Still no sign of Master Pegasus. I must have covered most of the city by now._

_I'm in the more rundown sector._

The message finished with an address.

"Oh my," Bakura gasped. "That really is a bad neighborhood. We'd better go there and try to help him!"

"Just what makes it a bad neighborhood?" Dr. Brisbane asked in concern. They reached the van and he loaded his suitcases into the back.

"What usually makes bad neighborhoods?" Yami Bakura retorted.

". . . I see your point," Dr. Brisbane said, chagrined. "Yes, we'd best hurry."

xxxx

As Seto had predicted, his medical team was both baffled and exasperated by more magic-based injuries. They didn't know how to help Gansley. But at least they were fairly sure he could safely travel on the plane, so the group really wanted to just go home. Atem, however, wasn't sure there wasn't more they needed to do in Germany.

"Siegfried, don't you remember where you got the statue piece?" he asked.

"Everything I did while under the control of this force is quite fuzzy," Siegfried replied. "I believe I found it on the property, but I can't swear to that."

"Isn't that strange, that it would just be rolling around here without anyone finding it before?" Atem frowned.

"This entire situation is strange," Siegfried shot back.

"Siegfried didn't tell me where he found it when he brought it back," Leonhard sighed.

Atem sighed too. "I don't think we should be so hasty in leaving. Perhaps we should stay at least for the night and see if we can make sure we don't still need to be here."

"I would doubt the other three pieces are here," Siegfried said.

"I don't know what I doubt anymore," Atem said.

The Big Four really wanted to leave, but they also wanted to know that they had all the pieces that could be found in the area. They exchanged a conflicted look.

"We could split up again," Seto grunted. "If you want to take Gansley home, you can. Mokuba and I would probably come with you. The others could stay here longer if they want."

Lector studied the others' expressions before replying. "I believe we should stay together, Mr. Kaiba."

Atem looked over. "There is one thing I thought of," he said slowly. "Last year when people were falling into magical comas due to the Neo-Orichalcos, Yami Bakura had enough power to revive one person. He may be able to do that again now, for Gansley. Or . . ." He hesitated. "I could try. . . ."

"It really hurt him to do that, though," Yugi said in concern. "I don't want you to get hurt, Atem. . . ."

"I know," Atem said. "But I would be willing to do it."

"Try," Nesbitt blurted. He looked down. "We want him back. . . ."

". . . How badly was Yami Bakura hurt?" Lector asked.

"He was thrown across the room and knocked out," Téa remembered. "But . . . he was okay when he woke up. . . ." Still, she looked at Atem with worry in her eyes. She didn't like for him to do something dangerous on purpose. What if he wouldn't be as lucky as Yami Bakura? From Yugi's eyes, he was worried too.

But Atem was already powering up the Infinity Puzzle. "Gansley, wake up!" he boomed. The light from the Puzzle hit Gansley and Atem fell back, but though everyone tensely waited, nothing happened. Atem finally gave a sad sigh. "It's not like with the Neo-Orichalcos. I'm sorry."

"Why didn't it work?!" Nesbitt cried, slamming his fist into the wall.

"I don't know," Atem said. "Nor do I know what would bring him out of it."

Lector bowed his head. "Thank you for trying, Pharaoh."

Kuriboh drooped too. "Kuri. . . ."

"There's gotta be a way to wake him up," Crump protested. "What about that book? Doesn't it say what to do if this happens?!"

Yugi shook his head. "I'm afraid not. It only says people can end up in magical comas from being blasted by the statue pieces. It doesn't say how to fix it."

Johnson looked sickened. "Well, are we staying or going? We need to decide. . . ."

"I don't know what would be best," Lector admitted. He looked to the others. "We could put it to a group vote. . . ."

"Let's just get him home," Nesbitt growled. "There's nothing that can be done here."

Crump and Johnson nodded. "We wanna get him home," Crump said.

Lector hesitated. "What would Gansley want, though?" he asked. "He had us come in the first place because he thought his son and grandchildren should get away for a while."

"But he didn't know he was going to be hurt himself," Johnson countered.

Nesbitt scowled at Lector. "We have three votes to one vote. By the previous logic in our group votes, the majority rules. We're going."

Lector got to his feet. "It's not that simple, Nesbitt!" he retorted. "Gansley might be in danger as well if we go back right now. We shouldn't go back until we know it's safe."

Nesbitt growled. "Are you overruling our group decision?! You, who always insist on abiding by them?!"

Lector held his ground. "If that's the way it has to be, then yes, I am."

"Hey, I don't know, Nesbitt," Crump said. "Lector's got a good point. Gansley might be really upset if we pack up and leave and plunge his family right back into trouble."

"So you're changing your vote?" Nesbitt snapped.

"Yeah, I think so," Crump said.

"And I think I am too," Johnson said.

Nesbitt looked away. "Fine."

"Maybe we'll hear back from the Bakuras soon that the Rare Hunters are no longer a threat," Lector said. "But for now, I believe we should stay. Thank you, all of you. You too, Nesbitt."

Nesbitt gave a barely perceptible shrug. "Let's get him in the castle then."

They were hoping they could take Gansley into a bedroom before the children saw. But as Leonhard led them inside, Amber was there, watching from the hall with wide, worried eyes. "What's wrong with Grandpa?" she asked.

Sickened, Lector looked over at her. "He was hurt by a magical blast."

"He was trying to protect Atem," Johnson added.

Amber bit her lip, looking very lost and afraid. "But . . . he'll be okay, won't he?"

"Yes!" Nesbitt growled.

"He's gotta be," Crump sadly added.

"Here, guys," Leonhard said softly. He took them into a ground floor bedroom and they gently laid Gansley on the bed.

"We should get him into something more comfortable," Lector said.

"I brought his suitcase," Atem offered, holding it out.

"Thank you," Lector said in some surprise. He lifted it onto a chair and opened it, taking out some pajamas.

Leonhard and the others slipped out and Crump quickly closed the door so they could work.

Amber was still in the hall when the group came out. "Is he hurt really bad?" she asked, her voice quavering.

Leonhard tried to give her a comforting smile. "He just needs to rest and he'll be okay," he said, while praying he was right. "Hey, I'll bet you've never been in a real castle before. How would you like if I show you and your brother around?"

Amber perked up a little, though her eyes were still sorrowful and filled with worry. "Yeah, I guess. . . ."

"Okay. Let's go find him!" Leonhard started off down the corridor. After a moment, Amber caught up with him and he slowed his pace so she could keep up.

"You know, he's really good with kids," Mai commented.

"He is," Yugi smiled. "When we were all trapped in Kaiba's Blue Eyes Dome, he comforted all the kids who were scared and upset."

"It's especially impressive considering that he has been sheltered and alone most of his life, neglected by his parents," Atem said.

"And used by his brother," Mai frowned. "I remember; I saw the final duel on television."

"You did, Mai?" Yugi said in surprise. "Mokuba tried to find you for the Grand Championship tournament and he couldn't."

"I was around," Mai said. "Actually, I stayed right in the area for a while. I considered showing up for the tournament, but I . . . wasn't ready for that yet." She looked away.

"Well, we're just glad you finally did come back, Mai," Téa said.

"I'm glad I did too," Mai said. "Seeing von Tassle today . . . kind of brought back some unpleasant memories. I don't know if Duke told any of you, but I was working for him for a while. Actually, I was a double agent. Pegasus hired me to find out what von Tassle was up to, so I went undercover working for him."

"Duke told us," Yugi said.

"I kind of tried to keep myself scarce, hoping von Tassle wouldn't notice me," Mai said with a tired smirk. "I'm sure he would have said something if he had, so I guess he didn't."

"He was probably too interested in the statue piece," Duke grunted.

"Hey, I wonder if we should try putting our pieces together to figure out what parts are still missing," Yugi said. "Then we'll know more what to look for."

"Works for me," Tristan shrugged.

They went to a table in the hall and laid out their pieces.

"We have a hand," Yugi noted. "I think Pegasus has the other hand. . . ."

"This looks like the back," Tristan said.

"We also have a foot," Mai said. ". . . I guess that looks like a foot, anyway. . . ."

"And . . . oh no, Siegfried's piece is the head," Téa moaned. "That's probably a really powerful piece all by itself, and it's what blasted Gansley!"

Atem looked sickened. "You're probably right, Téa. Although each piece probably has a great deal of power. Oh. . . ." He sank down at the table. "I wish Leon hadn't run out in front of the blast like he did. Of course I had to try to rescue him. But I most certainly wasn't expecting Gansley to rescue _me. . . ._"

"I'm glad he was there to do it," Yugi said quietly, "but I sure wish he hadn't got hurt. . . ."

"Hey, how did Leon know about you, Atem?" Joey wondered. "He didn't know before either."

"I suppose Mokuba told him," Atem said. "They've been corresponding for a long time."

"That makes sense to me," Mai said.

Atem stared down at the pieces on the table without really seeing them. "I wish I could have revived Gansley. . . ."

"At least he's still alive," Yugi said softly. "I'm sure he'll be okay. . . ."

"But maybe not until this madness ends, and who knows when that will be," Atem berated.

Kuriboh gave a sorrowful sigh. "Kuri. . . ."

"Who knows," Yugi said, trying to smile. "Maybe the others will be able to wake him up before that. It's not the same dark magic as before, but it might still respond to and be broken by their love for him."

"I hope so," Atem said. He sighed. "I've felt so helpless to stop so many of our recent calamities. It's a strange and terrible feeling, especially when I used to be able to do so much to help."

Joey frowned. "What are you talkin' about? You still do a lot to help!"

"That's right!" Téa exclaimed. "We'd all be a lot worse off if you weren't here!"

"And Leon would have definitely gotten hurt today if it wasn't for you," Yugi said.

Atem slowly nodded. "That's probably true." He tried to smile. "Thank you, all of you. I'll try to see things this way."

"You'd better," Joey growled.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Téa sighed sadly as she wandered the halls of the castle. She felt badly about how Atem was feeling and she really wished she could help him. She wanted to give him a good pep talk, but her thoughts were in such a muddle that for once she was having trouble putting one together.

She also worried about Seto. He had gone off, isolating himself again somewhere in this enormous building because he was afraid of losing control around so many statue pieces. Siegfried seemed to be afraid likewise about himself; he had also vanished and had not been seen upon their moving in to the castle.

Then there were the Big Five. The conscious members were all still with Gansley, desperately trying to figure out how to break the dark magic spell over him. Téa felt badly for them too. If only there was something more that could be done!

She had hoped the Bakuras might be having some luck with their end of the case, but beyond a message Bakura had sent that they were still looking for Pegasus, there was nothing. He hadn't replied to the text she had sent about the latest developments in Germany. Hopefully he was just sleeping, but after everything that had been happening, she wasn't sure she could believe that.

"Tough day, huh?"

She started and looked up. "Oh . . . hi, Mai," she greeted the older woman. "Yeah, this is . . ." She shook her head. "I just wish I could do something to help all these poor people! Most of them are my friends, and then Siegfried. . . ."

"I know it probably isn't what you're hoping to hear, but sometimes the best thing you can do is be strong for them," Mai said. "Joey's strength definitely helped me multiple times."

Téa gave a weak smile. "Normally I'm the one giving the advice about staying strong."

"Sometimes even the cheerleader needs a little reminder," Mai said.

"Yeah. . . ." Téa ducked her head. "And what about when the cheerleader isn't sure how to be strong?" she nearly whispered. "What then?"

Mai hesitated. "Maybe she needs to figure out why there's a problem this time."

". . . Actually, there's been a lot of times," Téa confessed. "But somehow I've always managed to hide how I'm feeling so I can help my friends."

Mai frowned now. "Maybe you should let everyone see that sometimes you need to be buoyed up too. You're not indestructible, Téa."

"I guess. . . . But I don't want to give them even more to worry about," Téa protested. "If they see I'm struggling, they'll probably get more discouraged too." She looked away. "And I'm so worried about Kaiba. . . ."

"Oh, _that's_ what this is about?" Mai folded her arms. "Everyone else is worried about Kaiba too, Hon. Share your feelings and maybe you can work out a solution." She paused. "Or is it that you feel like you have to be the one to come up with the solution?"

Téa flushed. "No, not exactly. . . ." She turned away, facing the windows as she wrung her hands. "I just . . . I don't know. It's not the first time Kaiba's been in danger, and it's not even the first time since he admitted we're his friends, but . . . it just seems especially horrible this time. Maybe it's because I'm thinking of how much he hates magic and now some freaky magical force is trying to take him over, or maybe I'm worried about Mokuba, or . . . maybe it's because I've never seen Kaiba like this. He's so afraid, so . . . vulnerable. . . ." She blinked back approaching tears. "I don't know how to help him. I wish I could just take that stupid force and pull it out of him and make it leave him alone! But . . . I can't. All I can do is try to support him from the sidelines and convince him not to give up, and right now, somehow that doesn't feel good enough!" She gave up and let the tears come, sobbing as she gripped her arm.

Mai didn't really know what to tell her, either. So she silently drew an arm around her and just let her cry.

Watching silent and unseen from farther up the hall, Nesbitt turned away too.

"Nesbitt?"

He jumped at the sound of Lector's voice. He spun around to face his friend and temporary leader. Lector had come out of Gansley's room and was watching him in concern, his eyes narrowed.

Nesbitt quickly looked away. "Yeah, what?"

Lector sighed. "You're not angry with me, are you?"

Nesbitt grunted. ". . . You and the others . . . you overrode my vote at least one other time. Or rather, that other time you didn't even vote in my presence."

Lector rubbed his forehead. "Only because right then you didn't seem to want to be part of the team," he reminded him. "You wanted to take the body you thought you had and escape from Noa's world. The rest of us all felt hurt and betrayed, and yes, we held a quick meeting before we went to join you to fight Yugi and Mr. Wheeler."

"I probably deserved it then," Nesbitt said. "But this time I wasn't trying to strike out on my own."

"I know you weren't," Lector said. "And honestly speaking, I want to go home as well. But it occurred to me while we were voting that maybe Gansley wouldn't want that. I felt I had to point that out."

Nesbitt scowled. ". . . I guess you wouldn't have been a good leader not to bring it up."

"That's how I felt about it," Lector said. "But not just a good leader, but a good friend. Right now I have to look out for Gansley's son and grandchildren as well as the team. I have to think what Gansley would want. I'm hoping that once the Rare Hunters are stopped, it will be safe to go back."

Nesbitt finally nodded. "I hope so too."

"So . . . you're not angry?" Lector hoped.

Nesbitt turned to face him. "It's not the decision I would have made, but you were thinking things out better than I tend to do. If I'm angry at all, I'm probably more angry at myself. And at this force for causing us all this trouble." He clenched a fist. "I want to make it pay for hurting Gansley."

"So do I," Lector admitted. "But I believe we'll get that chance."

Nesbitt sighed. "I guess there's been no change?"

"No," Lector said.

Nesbitt turned away again. "It doesn't seem right. Oh, not what happened to Gansley; that's obviously not right. But . . . if it was you lying hurt, I'd be grieving and worrying over you. But you're awake and around, and I've been arguing with you and on the rocks with you again."

"I hope you're not going to say you're wondering if your caring only comes out when I'm injured, because we both know that's not true," Lector frowned. "We're never going to agree on everything, and naturally when stressful things happen, our problems will flair up even worse than usual."

"I guess," Nesbitt grunted.

"What's more, if this exact situation happened with me as the victim instead of Gansley, it would play out exactly the same way," Lector continued. "You would have argued with Gansley about whether to stay or go, just as you did with me. When you get an idea in your head and you think it's right, nobody can easily convince you otherwise."

Nesbitt shrugged. "Maybe." He gripped his arms.

"Nesbitt, I'll admit that sometimes in my darkest moments I've had my doubts, but honestly, I really know that you don't only rebel against me. And I know that you love me no matter what." Lector walked around to face him.

"I just feel like a heel for adding to your stress," Nesbitt growled.

"I add to yours too," Lector remarked. "But Nesbitt, I've been concerned about you. Both on our last trip to New Orleans and now, you've been worrying that you'll get mind-controlled again. Yet when we were stranded in that last Shadow Game, you were convinced it wouldn't happen to you another time. What changed?"

Nesbitt wouldn't meet his gaze. "I don't know," he said gruffly. "Maybe it was just how Gansley got brainwashed and then got killed, even though I tried to help him. . . . It just kind of shattered all my self-confidence. And then on all of our misadventures, I'm always hurting you one way or another. I'm tired of always being so thoughtless, but it just seems to be my nature. I don't know how to overcome it!"

"I've recognized your confidence has taken a great deal of damage," Lector said. "I don't know what to do to help you find it again. But if I've done anything that's added to the blow . . ."

"You haven't," Nesbitt immediately interjected. "All you've done is to be understandably hurt and upset by things I've said and done."

"Maybe I haven't been as understanding as I should have been," Lector said.

"_I_ don't understand myself," Nesbitt shot back. "How could I expect anyone else to?"

"I understand you better than I did before, but I know I still have a lot left to learn," Lector said.

Nesbitt hit the wall with a fist. "That's one reason why the thought of being an android appealed to me," he admitted. "They don't hurt people. They're always logical!"

"They're also not alive," Lector said. "They don't have humanity's bad traits, it's true. But they also don't have the good. Nesbitt, you really are trying to do better. And you reach out to me and the others more than you did in the past."

Nesbitt was silent for a long moment. ". . . I saw Téa talking to Ms. Valentine and telling her how bad she felt that she couldn't do more to help Kaiba. I never thought it would be true, but . . . I can really relate to how she's feeling. I feel so helpless. . . . I can't do anything for the people I care about either."

"All we can do is try," Lector said. "But as long as we can't revive Gansley, I'm sure we're all going to feel helpless." He looked away. "I certainly do."

Nesbitt studied him. ". . . Téa also said how sometimes not even she knows how to be strong. She said usually she can pull herself together, but this time it was much harder." He hesitated. "I worry about you, Lector. Out of all of us, you're probably the most aloof, even more than me. Even Gansley finally snapped under the strain. But you, you bottle everything up inside just like Téa does, and for the same reason. You're trying so hard to be strong for everyone else. And I just kind of wonder what might happen to you when you reach your breaking point."

Surprise flickered in Lector's eyes and he abruptly turned away. "Let's hope we never have to find out."

Nesbitt stepped closer to him. "People practically have to drag things out of you when you're hurting. You never volunteer anything. And when we do ask, you'll almost always try to insist you're fine even if we know that can't be true."

". . . I did break down in court," Lector reminded him.

"Yeah. . . ." Nesbitt sighed. "When you get pushed to your breaking point, sometimes you open up then. But it's still a small break. I'm afraid of you having a much bigger one, like Gansley did when he started beating Yami Marik to a pulp with his cane."

"I don't even know how I'd react if I broke that badly," Lector frowned. "I can't see myself pounding on someone, but if I completely lost control, I suppose I might."

"And they'd probably deserve it," Nesbitt said. "But I don't want to see that happen to you. I know I'm no good at comforting, and I'm usually part of the problem instead of the solution, but . . . you've encouraged me to talk if I'm hurting. I wish you'd do the same. Or break down crying or screaming, whatever you need to do." He looked away uncomfortably.

Lector had to smile a bit. "I'll try to remember that. For now we should probably get back to the others." He paused. "Oh, and I notice that it's 'Téa' now and not 'the Gardner girl'?"

Nesbitt shrugged. "It didn't seem right, still calling her that. Those kids . . . they really are our friends now, aren't they?"

"Yes," Lector nodded. "They most definitely are."

They got back to Gansley's room and stood in the doorway, watching Crump and Johnson keeping a despondent vigil over their leader.

Nesbitt finally looked away. "It seems like we should be able to use the statue pieces to reverse what was done," he said.

Crump jumped. "Why didn't any of us think of that?!" he exclaimed.

"Maybe because if we try to use that same dark magic, it could backfire on us," Lector pointed out. "What if anyone who tries to use it will get corrupted too?"

Nesbitt growled. "I hate when things like that make sense."

Johnson sighed, sadly. "Don't we all."

xxxx

Bakura was very tense as they drove into the area where Croquet had said he was searching for Pegasus. The buildings were old and often decrepit, and he could very easily envision gangs and other delinquents lurking in and around many of them. It was an area he never willingly entered unless there was an emergency like this.

He sighed, leaning back against the passenger seat. "I can't believe Pegasus would be here."

"Not in his right mind, perhaps, but we know he's far from it," Yami Bakura grunted.

"I don't see much of anything around here," Dr. Brisbane said nervously. "I certainly don't see a limousine. That would certainly stand out in an area such as this."

"Yes, it would," Solomon frowned. "But if Croquet isn't still here, where is he now?"

"I can't imagine," Bakura said. "He hasn't sent any more messages. . . . And he isn't replying to one I sent him several moments ago. . . ."

Yami Bakura turned another corner and abruptly threw on the brakes. Everyone flew forward.

"What on Earth?!" Solomon exclaimed. "Yugi said you're actually a good driver!"

"Yes, which is why I saw no particular point in running down all those people in the road," Yami Bakura responded, his voice dripping sarcasm.

Solomon looked up with a jerk. Indeed, Pegasus was standing at one side of the road while Lumis and Umbra were standing on the opposite side. Duel Monsters stood in between, but whether they were holograms or real wasn't clear.

"Oh my," Bakura gasped. "I wonder who challenged who."

"They probably challenged him, perhaps with the stipulation that if they win, he has to restore Bandit Keith to full health," Yami Bakura mused.

"That sounds plausible," Solomon said. He paused, listening as the Rare Hunter duo fell to arguing. ". . . And what happens if they lose, I wonder. . . ."

"I wonder if we really want to find out," Dr. Brisbane said. "And if this Pegasus sees us, he may challenge us next."

"Hmm." Yami Bakura's eyes glinted.

"Yami, no!" Bakura gasped.

"Well, why not?" Yami Bakura grunted. "I wouldn't lose to him. If I won, I could stipulate that he hand over that statue piece to me."

Bakura chewed on his lip. "I suppose. . . ."

Outside, Pegasus was giggling in delight as his opponents' latest attempt to attack him only backfired on them. "You see?" he exclaimed. "There's truly nothing you can do!"

Lumis screamed as he went tumbling across the road from the blast. "Umbra, you beanstalk bumpkin!" he yelled. "I knew that wasn't going to work!"

"You didn't follow what I said!" Umbra snapped back. "If you'd just learn teamwork, you tiny twit . . . !"

"Oh my, such trouble in paradise," Pegasus mocked. "If only you both could pull yourselves together and carry on in spite of these embarrassing incidents. Why, just look at the Big Five, for instance. They certainly don't agree on strategy, and yet they don't let that little fact spoil their friendships."

Umbra growled as he drew a card and slapped it on the field. "Rogue Doll!"

Lumis stumbled back to his feet. "And I'll add this power-up to make her stronger than your pathetic monster."

"Such a brave attempt, but I'm afraid it's all in vain," Pegasus sneered.

"Actually, it's not," Umbra replied. "Mask of the Accursed!"

Pegasus's monster looked stunned as the mask swirled out of the card and over her face. No matter how she pulled, it wouldn't come off.

"Now you can't attack with that monster," Umbra sneered. "And it delivers 500 points of damage every turn."

Pegasus didn't have a witty comment this time. He clenched his teeth, his eye flashing with anger. But at last he said, "Just a minor setback. I will yet win the war."

"I wonder who really will win," Bakura said in concern.

For a while it looked like Lumis and Umbra would. Over the next turns they wittled Pegasus's lifepoints down to almost nothing. But on Pegasus's final turn, his eye glowed with madness as he looked at the card he had drawn.

"I don't like that look," Solomon frowned.

"Well, it's been fun, Gentlemen, but it all ends here," Pegasus grinned. "Now I sacrifice my useless monsters to play my new master. Reshef the Dark Being! Come forth!"

"What?!" Lumis shrieked.

Yami Bakura's eyes narrowed. The entire field lit up with an unearthly glow as Pegasus played his card. The light exploded, revealing the towering form of the dark lord himself. Lumis and Umbra fell back, terrified.

"That's one rare card we've never been able to find for Bandit Keith!" Lumis exclaimed.

"Oh no," Solomon said under his breath.

"My word. . . ." Bakura craned his neck back to look up at it. "It's huge. . . ."

"Now, Reshef! Finish this duel once and for all!" Pegasus exclaimed.

Laser fire opened up from all over Reshef's body, blasting away everything in its path. Lumis and Umbra both screamed as they too were sent flying. Their lifepoints dropped to zero.

They had only barely landed when the holograms faded and Pegasus stepped forward, his statue piece glowing brightly. "Now, it's time to pay up," he sneered. "Sacrifice your life energy to Reshef!"

Umbra went stiff. "You're mad!"

"Oh, on the contrary, I would say I'm very delighted at the moment!" Pegasus laughed. "Farewell!" He pointed his deadly artifact at Umbra, the nearest one to him.

"Oh my!" Bakura exclaimed. "They're Rare Hunters, but we can't just stand here and watch their life energy be drained!" He fumbled with the door handle.

"Well, it _would _solve Gansley's problem with his family," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Yami!" Bakura scolded.

"Nevermind. I'm going." Yami Bakura started to get out of the van at the same moment Pegasus fired. But before he even had a chance to issue his challenge, a small form was diving in front of the beam and pushing the first victim away.

"Umbra!"

Umbra yelled in shock as he crashed down hard in the road yet again. But when Lumis's limp body fell across him, he paled. "Lumis?!"

Bakura froze, his brown eyes filled with horror.

"Well, well, isn't that special," Pegasus mocked, observing in sick delight as the even more horrified Umbra lifted the lifeless form and just stared into the pale face. "The light of friendship in action. Of course, it's all in vain, as I'm still going to get you as well."

"On the other hand, why not duel me instead?" Yami Bakura interrupted.

Pegasus spun around. "You? The Spirit of the Millennium Ring? You're challenging me?"

"Why not," Yami Bakura sneered. "I beat you in our last battle. Surely you've desired a rematch."

"Hmm." Pegasus started to smirk. "Very well. And if I win, I will lay claim on your Infinity Ring. It's a prize I've desired for quite some time."

"On the other hand, if I win, I will relieve you of your statue piece," Yami Bakura said.

"This?" Pegasus looked down at it. "Oh, so you've figured out what it is. Well, no matter. You'll never win it from me!" He walked back across the street. "And after I take it from you and leave you as nothing more than a spirit once again, I will drain the energy of everyone else here, including your precious Bakura."

"We'll see." Yami Bakura took out his deck.

"Yami, be careful!" Bakura exclaimed. He leaped out of the van as well, followed quickly by Solomon and Dr. Brisbane.

"Yes, please do," Pegasus sneered.

"Before we begin, what did you do with Croquet?" Yami Bakura asked.

"Croquet? I haven't seen him," Pegasus shrugged.

"If that's true, then he must still be wandering around looking," Solomon said.

"Only why doesn't he reply?!" Bakura worried, looking down at his phone.

"We'll have to worry about that later," Yami Bakura said.

As the duel began, Bakura, Solomon, and Dr. Brisbane went over to the Rare Hunters. Umbra had been trying in vain to revive Lumis, but by now he had accepted it wasn't going to happen. He clutched the lifeless body, shaking, his eyes actually haunted.

"He saved me," he said. "He pushed me out of the way, but he couldn't save himself. . . ."

"I'm sorry," Solomon said grimly.

"He got so hysterical during Battle City when he thought I was going to die," Umbra said. "He must have been desperate not to let that happen again. . . ."

"He's still alive, isn't he?" Solomon demanded.

"Yes," Umbra said. "But . . . he might be even worse off than Bandit Keith. I can barely find a pulse! What do I do?!" He clutched the body close to him. _"What do I do?!"_

"I don't know," Bakura admitted in sickened horror.

All he knew to do now was to desperately pray that Yami Bakura would win.

xxxx

Alister was not in a good mood as he sped through the city on his motorcycle. As usual, Domino City was a hotbed of bizarre activity, and also as usual, they were getting plunged into the middle of it. Right now, he and the others were trying to help look for Croquet. Bakura had sent them a text telling them that Yami Bakura was starting a duel with Pegasus and he was afraid that Pegasus might have drained Croquet the rest of the way and left him lying somewhere, so of course Raphael figured they would have to look since Bakura couldn't leave where he was.

"He could be anywhere," Alister muttered to himself. He ducked as a Curse of Dragon screeched overhead. "Or maybe something like that even ran him off the road before Pegasus ever found him."

Valon, naturally, thought it was epically awesome that Duel Monsters had spilled into the real world again. Raphael's cat Liu had been more skeptical, but when Guardian Eatos had shown up on the porch, Liu had happily gone over to rub. Eatos was helping look as well, probably sticking close by Raphael in case bad Duel Monsters attacked him.

Alister sped around a corner. He had nothing against Croquet, and of course he wanted to find the man if he was laying hurt somewhere, but all of this nonsense about businessmen being mind-controlled and statue pieces draining life energy from people was reminding him far too much of his own bout with corruption the previous year. The Neo-Orichalcos had seized him, poisoning him and making him believe that Valon and Raphael were dead and that only by taking control of a new Doom-like organization that had sprung up did he have any chance of restoring them. In his heartbroken and grieving state he had been vulnerable, and he hadn't broke free of the deadly stone's control and corruption until one of his followers had attacked the innocent boy Leonhard von Schroeder.

He gripped his motorcycle's handles even tighter. The whole experience had only taken a number of days, but it had felt like an eternity. He had tried to put it behind him now that everything had been set right, and sometimes he managed rather well, but this latest disaster wasn't helping. He had to wonder how Pegasus had been brought under this mysterious force's control, not to mention Seto and Siegfried and who knew who else. And more to the point, he had to wonder what else might go wrong.

The sight of a limousine crashed into a telephone pole up ahead jerked him back to the present. He roared to a stop and leaped down, running over to the door. "Hey!" he called, desperately knocking on the window. The chauffeur was slumped back against the seat. Croquet, if indeed this was the right limousine, must be in the back.

It was a relief when the door opened. Alister quickly checked the chauffeur over for injuries before pulling him out and laying him on the ground. It was unlikely the vehicle would blow up, he supposed, but better not to take chances.

A quick inspection of the inside of the door revealed the button to unlock all the doors, so he pressed it and went on to the next one. As he hauled it open, a man he recognized as Croquet blearily looked up at him from behind shattered and askew sunglasses.

"Master Pegasus," he rasped. "Please . . . you have to . . . save him. . . ."

"Did he do this?!" Alister demanded. He leaned in to start checking Croquet for injuries too.

"He . . ." Croquet grimaced. "He stood in the road and the chauffeur had to swerve. Master Pegasus drained his life energy and then came to me. Just as before, he tried to break free, but . . . he didn't have as much success this time. It's getting a stronger hold on him! You have to save him!" He gripped Alister's wrist as tightly as he could muster.

"I'll do what I can," Alister said, although he doubted that would be much. He barely even knew the man; how would he have any hope of breaking such a strong spell?

Quickly he undid Croquet's seatbelt and draped an arm around his shoulders. "Come on, I have to get you out of here," he said.

Croquet stumbled but went, hissing in pain.

"You've had your energy drained twice now?" Alister prompted.

"Yes," Croquet rasped. He looked barely conscious, although he was still in better shape than any of the victims who weren't awake at all.

Alister set him down on the curb. "I'll have Raph bring the car," he said, taking out his phone and dialing.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes: Today's guest-stars are from **_**The Rockford Files**_**, episode **_**The Queen of Peru**_**. I wrote a couple of stories with them here, but where they really shine are in my short story collections with them on Livejournal!**

**Chapter Thirteen**

Seto had barricaded himself in one of the tower rooms. He looked out over the German countryside, somewhat in disbelief. Of all the places he thought he'd be, let alone while fighting off some new magical disaster, Siegfried's castle had been at the bottom of that list. He had never objected to Mokuba being friends with Leonhard, since Leonhard was a completely different and better person than Siegfried, but Siegfried disgusted and annoyed him. Leonhard had tried to assure Mokuba that Siegfried really was trying to turn over a new leaf, but Seto didn't know if Siegfried was just lying to his brother again.

Of course, some would say he had lied and used Mokuba too.

He looked away. He had never shown it, but that horrible day when he had put on his act of accusing Mokuba of being a traitor had broken his heart. When he had stared out at the rain after the deed was done, he had been trying to force himself to think on how his plans would lead to both of them having a better life in the future, not on Mokuba's crushed expression in the present. Despite how cold-hearted he had become from Gozaburo's training, he had never wanted to hurt Mokuba, the one person he had still trusted and loved. He had struggled with himself quite a bit over what he had felt had to be done, although in the end he had forced himself to do it, and do it well. It had needed to be that way so that everyone believed it. His plan wouldn't have worked otherwise and he couldn't have got control of KaibaCorp. That was why he hadn't been able to tell Mokuba; the young boy's reactions had to be completely genuine. Mokuba had always been too sincere to really be good at acting.

He still couldn't bring himself to feel that he had done wrong by Gozaburo, after all the cruelty and abuse the man had heaped on him. But . . . if there had been another way, should he have taken it for Mokuba's sake?

What was he doing, thinking about this now? It was far too late to do anything about it.

At least he had finally told Mokuba the truth. The boy had never asked and Seto hadn't wanted to talk about it, but several months ago he had. Mokuba had been happy to know that Seto had never really believed he was a traitor, and Seto was glad he had finally told him.

He had always said that the past was over and done with, but it seemed like it kept coming back to haunt him anyway. Just like magic did.

He got up, going closer to the window. "What am I going to do?" he whispered hopelessly. "I don't know how to make this force go away. How am I going to keep protecting Mokuba from it? And Téa and all the others?"

"You know, Herr Kaiba, I wonder if I could actually be of assistance."

Seto jumped a mile and whirled. Siegfried was leaning in the open doorway, arms folded.

"What could you possibly do?" Seto scoffed. "You're in the same predicament I'm in."

"I would imagine the same force is controlling us both," Siegfried said, "so if we work together it may actually stay dormant until all eight pieces have come together."

"You would actually want to work together?" Seto said in disbelief.

"I don't especially like being a vessel of this mysterious force either, you know," Siegfried said. His expression darkened. "I almost seriously hurt my brother. As it is, I've seriously hurt some poor man I don't even know and his friends are all devastated. I don't want anything like that to happen again."

"I didn't know you were so concerned about your fellow man," Seto said with dripping sarcasm.

"I could say the same about you," Siegfried sneered. "I have certainly heard a great deal of unscrupulous things you have done, Herr Kaiba. But since right now we have the same problem, are you truly so opposed to working together?"

Seto grunted. "I'd rather stay on my own and not be around anyone, but Mokuba and Téa insist on me staying with the group." He walked over to his rival. "So what you're proposing is to stay with us until this mystery is solved and the force is gone?"

"Yes, because I want it eradicated from my body," Siegfried said. "Sticking with your group might be the best way to ensure that outcome."

"I don't suppose you've learned where any of the remaining statue pieces are," Seto said.

"Actually . . ." Siegfried smirked. "I may have discovered the location of one, perhaps two."

"And you won't tell us where they are unless we agree to take you along?" Seto scowled. "It's not like I'm in charge of this expedition. You should be talking to Yugi or the Pharaoh."

"Yes, I've meant to ask you about the two Yugis, although I don't care a great deal right now," Siegfried said. He started to turn away. "There is possibly a piece in Switzerland, but I'm not certain of that. The report I have of one in Los Angeles, on the other hand, seems much more assured."

Seto chased after him to the doorway. "What's the one in Los Angeles?!"

"Two graphics designers for the company Fragmented Triangle stumbled across it while . . . ghostbusting, shall we say?" Siegfried quirked an eyebrow, looking amused and not entirely believing what he was telling. "They discovered it has mystical properties and they're not sure of the proper way to dispose of it, so they're trying to find someone who knows what it is."

Seto growled. "Then some of us should go there! But if there's any chance one is in Switzerland, someone should check on that too."

"I am planning to look into that one myself," Siegfried said, "but then I should like to join you back in America."

"Fine. Whatever," Seto snapped. He stormed past Siegfried into the hall. "Let's let the others know." He wasn't sure if the Big Five would want to leave the castle or not, although he would certainly rather they come as well when they had their elemental rings.

How ironic that he had to think about things like that.

xxxx

Everyone was relieved when Seto and Siegfried reappeared, and seeming to be in control of themselves. The news Siegfried brought was startling, but welcome—although some were skeptical.

"How, exactly, did you learn about this so-called statue piece in Los Angeles?" Lector said, looking wary. "Did these graphics designers really post about their predicament online where everyone could see it?"

"Oh, of course not," Siegfried smirked. "The younger brother of one of them did. Trying to be helpful, I'm sure. He was posting on the Facebook page for Domino City, most likely because he knows that metropolis's reputation for attracting all things bizarre."

Yugi flushed. That was certainly a dubious thing to be known for, although he couldn't deny it was true.

"And possibly also because that's the headquarters of the company the graphics designers work at," Siegfried added.

"Wait, Fragmented Triangle?" Duke frowned. "They're those weird rivals of Jenova Corp, the ones we figured made the holographic gnomes."

"Ooh." David winced. "I wonder if coming into contact with them is a good thing. I remember none of us especially liked the company president or his vice-president."

"It's not like we have a lot of choice now," Duke said. "If employees of Fragmented Triangle have one of those statue pieces, we have to get it from them."

"What are the names of these people?" Seto asked.

"I only know the brother's name," Siegfried said. "His account name is Mike Trevino."

"I'll contact him for more information," Seto decided.

"He posted pictures online," Siegfried said. "I'm sure you'll agree that it looks like part of the statue."

Everyone did, and Seto immediately messaged Mike to set up a meeting.

"Wait, I just realized," Joey said. "You're on Facebook, Kaiba? And you didn't give us your username?"

Seto grunted. "It's not like I use it for frivolous posts and cat videos, Wheeler."

Joey scowled. "Well, I don't either! I hardly ever post much at all. I just use the place to check up on what some of the others are doing."

"Good for you," Seto said.

Nesbitt looked to Lector. "Well, what are we going to do now?" he wondered. "Are we going to take Gansley and go with them?"

Lector sighed. "We'd still be away from Domino City," he said. "We should probably go; we might be needed."

"We could vote on it?" Johnson said slowly.

"No, let's just go," Nesbitt said.

"Oh no!" Téa suddenly exclaimed. She was staring at her phone. "I finally heard back from Bakura and things are bad! Croquet's badly hurt from a second energy drain and Pegasus hurt one of those Rare Hunters!"

"Hurting the Rare Hunter is bad?" Tristan deadpanned.

"Well, he was trying to protect his friend and now he's almost dead," Téa frowned. "That's sad. And Croquet says Pegasus is even deeper under the control than he was before!"

"I guess he'd have to be, to drain Croquet again," Tristan said.

"And Yami Bakura's dueling Pegasus!" Téa went on. "Bakura's really worried."

Atem frowned too. "By the time we get back, the duel will be long over. Let's pray that Yami Bakura will be the victor."

A momentary silence fell over the group as they really considered the high stakes of that duel. If Pegasus won, he would claim the Infinity Ring. It wouldn't allow him to use it for evil and would probably kill him, but by then it might be too late to use it to restore Yami Bakura back to physical form. And Pegasus might have already drained Bakura, Solomon, and the rest.

"Come on, guys," Yugi said. "Yami Bakura won't lose."

"Technically speaking, when he goes up against high-level Duelists, he usually does," Tristan pointed out.

"Hey, he beat me and won that tournament we were in during the winter," Joey frowned. "I'm high-level!"

"Yeah, but that wasn't a life-and-death duel," Tristan said.

"Alright," Seto interrupted. "This Mike Trevino says when we get to Los Angeles, he'll be waiting. His brother is embarrassed Mike posted about the artifact and his friend is aggravated. They'll want to make sure we're on the level before they show it to us."

"Okay, everyone," Yugi said. "Let's get packed again and go!"

Everyone quickly dispersed to do just that.

xxxx

Bakura watched in tense relief as the duel between Yami Bakura and Pegasus wound down to a close, in favor of Yami Bakura. It had been a long and hard duel, with it looking like Pegasus would win more than once, but at last his lifepoints dropped down to zero and he dropped to his knees in distress.

"No! How could I lose?!" he cried.

Yami Bakura was upon him in an instant, grabbing for the statue piece before he could change his mind. "We had a deal, Pegasus."

Pegasus looked up at him with a jerk, his eye cold and flashing. "How dare you!" he spat. "Don't you know this was my last chance?!"

Yami Bakura pulled the magical artifact to him. "Your only chance for what?" he retorted.

Pegasus averted his gaze. "For Cecelia to be restored to me. . . ."

Bakura gasped. "Did the force promise you that?!"

"Yes," Pegasus said. "So I willingly let it in."

"Then that's why it has such a tight grip on you," Yami Bakura grunted. "But I highly doubt it can bring back the dead. It must be tricking you."

"No!" Pegasus insisted. He got to his feet. "He promised!"

"He?" Yami Bakura frowned. "You told Lumis and Umbra that Reshef is your new master. Is he the force?"

"Of course," Pegasus said. "What do you think of that?! He must have the power to bring people back. It can't be a trick!"

"Even if that's true, he's likely only saying it to keep you in line," Yami Bakura said. "I doubt he has any intention of really following through."

"And taking away someone else's loved ones to get back your own is never right," Bakura said. "Why should everyone have to suffer what you've suffered?!"

Umbra looked up at Pegasus with anger and hatred flashing in his eyes. "Tell me how to revive my friend!"

"I've stolen his life energy," Pegasus said. "You can't get that back. I was using a large enough dose for you, so naturally his little body couldn't take it!"

"Then that's why he's almost dead!" Umbra got to his feet, clutching Lumis close to him. "There has to be a way to reverse this! I won't believe there isn't!"

Pegasus's lip curled. "You're acting just like me when I first started believing I could bring Cecelia back from the dead. It feels good, doesn't it? That wondrous hope and belief that all is not lost?"

"Pegasus, you helped during more than one crisis!" Bakura pleaded. "You've changed! Don't go back to how it was! I know part of you doesn't want to hurt anyone now! That's why you keep trying to resist hurting Croquet! But he's still badly hurt, especially after the second time you started to drain him!"

Pegasus wavered. "Croquet. . . . My one true friend. . . ." His eye flickered and he grimaced, holding a hand to his face. "What have I done?"

"It's not too late to stop it!" Bakura said. "Please, renounce Reshef and help us save all the people he's hurting!"

"I . . ." Pegasus trembled, looking up at him. Suddenly his face filled with madness and he sneered as he straightened. "You will never have this mortal fool back!" he laughed. Now his voice boomed with an unearthly echo. It clearly wasn't Pegasus talking anymore.

"Reshef," Yami Bakura snarled.

Pegasus cackled wildly, vanishing in a burst of light and smoke.

"Oh no!" Solomon exclaimed. "He got away!"

"Reshef's hold was weakening, so he tightened it," Yami Bakura growled. He looked to Umbra, who was furiously staring at the spot where Pegasus had been standing.

Bakura came closer. "Yami. . . ."

Yami Bakura pondered for a moment before coming to a decision. He stepped closer to Umbra. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know what to do," Umbra said hopelessly.

"Then I have a proposal for you. Stick with us and we will try to find a way to save your friend. But in return, you will have to promise to leave Gansley's family alone, as well as to not interfere if the police try to arrest Bandit Keith. He's fired you both; why keep trying to get back in his good graces?"

Umbra frowned. "You have no guarantee I won't turn against you again when all is said and done."

"That's quite true, but I have an answer to that as well." Yami Bakura folded his arms. "If you make this covenant with me, I will not let you break it without dire consequences." The Infinity Ring glowed. "You know I have the power to back up my threats. You would sorely regret making an enemy of me."

Umbra flinched. But he only hesitated for a moment. "Alright," he said. "I promise. Just please . . . help me save Lumis. . . ."

"Very well," Yami Bakura grunted. "We will do everything we can. If we can save him, in his condition, we should be able to save the others as well."

"You want to use him as a guinea pig to figure out how to save the others," Umbra realized.

"But it should help the both of you as well," Yami Bakura pointed out. "And it's your only option, isn't it?"

Umbra clenched his teeth. "Yes. . . ."

Bakura looked nervously to Solomon as they all walked back to the van. "I hope this isn't a bad idea. . . ."

"So do I," Solomon said, "but it is our best chance at the moment."

Bakura sighed. "I suppose you're right. . . ."

Dr. Brisbane looked disturbed. "I probably don't want to know what 'dire consequences' he's talking about, do I?"

"Probably not," Solomon said, "although since he's on our side, and can't go bad without dire consequences for himself, I'm not entirely sure myself what he's thinking of doing."

"Sending them to the Shadow Realm, probably," Bakura said. "If they did turn against us again, I would say he would be justified and the Infinity Ring wouldn't harm him."

"Most likely right," Solomon said.

xxxx

The flight back to the States was long and tense. Not much happened, nor did anyone have much of an idea of anything to do other than talk and worry and pray.

Lector mostly stayed with Gansley in the medical wing. The others were often there as well, and sometimes Peter or the children came in, but Amber and Charlie were uncomfortable and sad seeing their grandfather lying hurt and didn't ever stay long.

Lector sighed sadly and leaned back in the chair during a period where they were alone. "I wish I knew what to do, Gansley," he spoke aloud. "You made me your second-in-command so long ago, and I've tried so hard to live up to that responsibility, but I don't know that I've ever really succeeded.

"I never was sure why you chose me. Johnson was your oldest friend, and sometimes he used to serve as our spokesperson, so I always thought he would have been your first choice. Sometimes I think he would have done the job better and more like what you wanted, but that was because I didn't think he was emotional at all. Now I know he feels things a lot more deeply than I used to think was possible. I suppose we all do.

"Nesbitt's worried I might completely snap. I can't say it isn't possible. Part of me feels like the rest of you have suffered more—especially you, being the leader, and Nesbitt, struggling so hard to understand what caring about people is really like and making mistakes. But we've all had our trials, and . . . well, I suppose there's a part of me that feels bitter about it all. My biological family broke my heart, and even though I surprisingly haven't actually felt vindictive towards them, the more time that goes by, the angrier I am about what they did to me. I don't think I deserved that. And yet, another part of me wonders if I did, if I'm only getting my just desserts for the wrongs I committed towards Gozaburo and Seto and even little Mokuba, not to mention Yugi and the rest. Crump insisted there was no justification for what my father did, and I want to believe that. But . . . I don't know." He slumped back and ran his hands down his face. "I just don't know."

For a long time he just stared up at the ceiling without really seeing it, lost in his thoughts. When he finally spoke again, he half-didn't realize he was doing it.

"I used to think I was such a good person. . . . I didn't even think we were doing anything wrong by trying to take over KaibaCorp. It was just a business decision. I had no idea Gozaburo wouldn't just see it as such. Maybe he wouldn't have felt differently if it hadn't been for what Seto did. And I kept blaming only Seto and thinking it was good to rail against him any way possible, even by involving others in it like Yugi and Mokuba. It's ironic that it took a mad scientist like Dr. Portman to point out that I was a hypocrite. I suppose I have to be grateful to her for that."

He sighed, sadly. "And now we have to protect the world, and you're hurt, and I . . . don't know if I'm strong enough to carry on without you. How can I lead everyone to victory?"

"_Lector . . . I chose you because I knew you could."_

Lector jumped. "Gansley?!"

Of course, Gansley had not spoken, at least not aloud. But Lector was certain he had not imagined his dear friend's words.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "I will do my best not to let you or any of the others down."

"_I know you won't. And I will be with you in spirit even if I'm physically unable to take part."_

"I know you will be." Lector reached over and gripped Gansley's hand. "But I pray you will be able to be there. We all want you to wake up . . . so badly. . . ."

Gansley didn't respond again, but Lector supposed he shouldn't be surprised. It probably took a great deal of energy to transmit even one message in Gansley's state, and he had sent two.

He could feel the plane was starting to descend now. They were almost to Los Angeles, and to another statue piece. Hopefully these strangers would allow them to take it.

xxxx

Serenity stared out the window as the plane landed at LAX. "Did you tell Snakes we were coming to Los Angeles, Duke?" she asked.

"I wasn't sure if we'd have time to see him, so I didn't," Duke admitted. "But I wish we could."

"Who knows, maybe he'll even want to join us," David said. "Just to try to look out for us, of course. Like me, he doesn't have much sense of adventure. Too dangerous."

"I wish we could visit sometime when there aren't world-threatening things happening," Serenity sighed.

They soon disembarked and looked around for their welcoming committee. Seto quickly recognized Mike Trevino from his Facebook avatar and went over to where the man in his thirties was standing with two middle-aged men, one balding and somewhat heavy, while the other was slender, blond, and strangely wearing a heavy coat over his shoulders.

"Mr. Kaiba?" The balding man had spoken. "Hey, I'm Lou Trevino." He spoke with a strong Brooklyn accent.

"Hey! A fellow New Yorker!" Joey chirped.

"Hi," Mike greeted.

Duke did a double-take while looking at the blond. Noticing, the man quirked an eyebrow. "What's the problem?" He had a gravelly English accent.

"Oh . . . sorry," Duke stammered. "I was just thinking that you look like a friend of mine, only maybe ten years older or so. . . ."

"And without the scar," David said under his breath. He had apparently noticed the resemblance to Snakes too.

The man grunted. "You're not the first blokes what's told me that."

A little awkward now, Lou said, "This is my buddy Ginger Townsend."

Joey and Tristan stared at each other and snarked. _"Ginger?!"_

The absolutely icy look they received from Ginger shut them both up in a hurry.

Seto, who couldn't care less about the odd name, just nodded. "Did you bring the statue piece?"

"It's in the car," Ginger said. He started walking off towards a blue sedan and the group followed. Ginger arrived first and opened the door, and Lou reached in and took it out.

"Well, what do you guys think?" he asked.

Yugi stared at it. "It looks like the upper torso," he exclaimed. He quickly flipped through the magical artifacts book for a comparison. "Yeah!"

"So it really is part of your set then?" Mike said hopefully, wanting to prove useful after Lou and Ginger's dislike of his going public about their acquisition.

"Yes, I would say so," Atem said. "You wrote about it being magical. Did it do anything strange?"

"It glows every now and then," Lou said, "but we're not sure what that means."

"Maybe the other missing piece is nearby!" Téa exclaimed. ". . . Although we're not sure how close it has to be before it starts glowing. . . ."

Seto studied the strangers. "We'd like to go to your neighborhood and see if it seems to react to anything there," he said.

"We've tried that all up and down the street," Ginger grunted.

"Yeah, you wouldn't think so, but they've dealt with all kinds of supernatural stuff and have to perform exorcisms . . ." Mike rambled.

Seto gave him a deadpan stare. "We'd still like to try ourselves," he said.

"Suit yourselves," Ginger said flatly. "We can take you to our street." He got in the car.

"Do you guys have rental cars arranged yet?" Lou asked.

"I sent for transportation from the Los Angeles branch of KaibaCorp," Seto said. "We'll follow you there."

"Okay," Lou said. He climbed in the driver's seat. Mike scrambled to get in the back.

"Well, they're a strange bunch, to say the least," Mai commented.

"Yeah, whoever heard of a guy named Ginger?" Tristan said.

"Actually, I've heard of several famous guys named Ginger, and none of them were pushovers," Mai said. "I'd say he fits right in. I'd also say not to get on his bad side."

"You don't have to tell us twice about that," Joey said, shuddering as he climbed into one of Seto's waiting limousines.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes: I prefer writing mostly from the anime version, but I did end up deciding to incorporate a couple of things from other verses for Lumis and Umbra, including the insults (based on both **_**Duel Links**_** and the manga) and Lumis apparently being very sensitive about his height (as in the manga and somewhat in **_**Duel Links**_**), because it's interesting, I was slightly amused by the insults, and because Lumis's feelings in the manga make for bit more development than he had in the anime. On the other hand, I felt the anime showed more of a likelihood that they care about each other than the manga did, so I wanted to stick with anime verse otherwise. I might not have done the insults at all had I properly studied their appearances in all verses before starting the fic.**

**Chapter Fourteen**

_It wasn't standard practice in the Rare Hunters' organization to duel in a team. Usually each Hunter worked solo, although some liked to take others with them simply to serve as thugs to beat up the losers. Marik really didn't care how any of them operated, as long as they got results. The more power they built up, the greater chance he would have of defeating the Pharaoh when he found him at last._

_For some reason, however, he did think that two particular Rare Hunters would work well together in a team, and he arranged a meeting between them without them realizing he wanted them to meet._

"_What are you doing here?" Umbra frowned as he entered a room and almost tripped over a man who was literally half his size. "Master Marik wanted to meet with me and told me to come here! He'll be furious if he finds you in here . . . if he can even see a shrimp like you," he mockingly added._

_The little man fumed. "Master Marik wanted to meet with __**me,**__" he retorted. "And no one calls me a shrimp, you beanstalk!"_

"_Oh yeah?!" Umbra's eyes flamed and he took a threatening step forward._

_Marik's dark laughter startled them both. "It's true, I wanted to meet with each of you," he said as he stepped out of the shadows. "But first I wanted you to meet each other."_

"_What?! Why?!" Umbra exclaimed._

"_I've been observing how you duel, and I believe your decks complement each other," Marik said. "I want you to work as a team."_

"_A team?!" the little man shrieked._

_Umbra frowned. "Are you sure, Master Marik?"_

"_You question me?" Marik snapped._

_They both flinched._

"_No, Sir, of course not," Umbra quickly amended._

"_Good. Now, get to know each other and then come to me. I'll show you how your decks can work in tandem with each other." Marik glided back out of the room, clutching his ever-present Millennium Rod._

_Umbra sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I insulted you."_

_The small man frowned and half-turned away. "I don't let anyone insult me," he said. "If it wasn't for Master Marik, I wouldn't even tolerate you being here."_

_Umbra felt a little guilty now. This person was obviously very sensitive about his height. It was more than likely that he had been cruelly bullied and teased in the past. And he must be talented or he wouldn't be a Rare Hunter. Marik only chose the best._

"_. . . I really am sorry," Umbra tried again. "If we're going to work together, we can't have bad blood between us. Won't you agree to try starting fresh?"_

_Silence, followed at last by a barely imperceptible shrug. "I suppose."_

"_What's your name?" Umbra asked. "My codename is Umbra."_

_That brought some interest. "I'm called Lumis," was the reply._

"_Mask of Light and Mask of Darkness," Umbra mused. "Let's sit down and compare our decks, shall we?"_

_Lumis was willing, so they sat down at a table and took out their decks. "You like Mask cards too?" he said in surprise when Umbra spread his out._

"_Yes. They're very debilitating to my opponents," Umbra said. "And one of the most powerful monsters utilizes masks."_

"_I'm quite fond of The Masked Beast," Lumis sneered._

"_I have one that's even more powerful than it," Umbra bragged. "The Masked Beast Des Guardius." He held it out._

_Lumis stared as he read the text. "This card is incredible! What a perfect way to damage opponents! Even defeating it only helps us instead of them!"_

_Their partnership began that way, with their enthusiasm for Mask cards making way for a powerful team strategy. But the more they worked together, the more their partnership developed into a strong friendship. Despite arguments and insults whenever they started to lose, their caring for each other was never destroyed. Marik had known they would make a forceful team, but even he hadn't realized it would go so much deeper than that._

The small group had gathered in the Bakuras' basement, with Lumis being laid on the couch. Umbra stood by, tensely watching as Yami Bakura studied Lumis, checking his vital signs before stepping back and concentrating hard with the Infinity Ring. Bakura stared at him in alarm.

"Yami! Téa reported that Atem couldn't revive Gansley! What are you doing?!"

Yami Bakura opened his eyes and grunted. "Atem also never tried to do this before, but last year I did. It's possible that his Item doesn't even have that power . . . although I don't know why I'd have it if he doesn't." He gestured at both Bakura and Umbra. "Stand back."

"What are you going to do?!" Umbra exclaimed.

"I'm going to try to use the Infinity Ring to wake him up," Yami Bakura said. "If it doesn't work, I'm not sure what to try next."

Again he started concentrating, gathering all of his strength to put into the blast. The light surrounded Lumis but then faded without seeming to have any effect.

"It's not working," Umbra said in despair.

"It took a few tries for it to work on Marik last year," Yami Bakura said. "Be patient." He growled, forcing himself to add more strength. "Lumis, wake up!" Again he blasted with the Ring, nearly blinding everyone in the room. They looked away.

Dr. Brisbane was both confused and amazed. "His power is incredible," he said to Solomon. "I've heard of the Infinity Items, but I've never actually seen one!"

"It would be even more incredible if it would actually work," Umbra spat. He went over to Lumis, again checking his vitals. "His pulse is even slower than before! . . . Wait." He stared. "It's speeding up a little."

Yami Bakura stared too. "Is that from the Ring, or . . . ? I wonder." He pondered a moment, then swept his hand in Umbra's direction with a shooing gesture. "Step back to where you were before."

"What?! Why?" Umbra demanded.

"Just do it," Yami Bakura growled.

Frowning, Umbra stepped back and Yami Bakura checked Lumis's pulse again. His eyes widened.

"Yami, what is it?!" Bakura exclaimed.

"It's slowing down again," Yami Bakura said.

"That's ridiculous!" Umbra said in disbelief.

"No." Yami Bakura leaned back. "It's saccharine, but true—your presence is directly affecting him. He rallies more when you're right near him. Perhaps if you don't move and I blast him, something more will happen."

"But . . . !" Umbra walked back over again. "How is that possible?!"

"Don't ask me," Yami Bakura snorted. "I've been discovering that friendship and love actually can work miracles."

Bakura smiled. "It's quite beautiful, really."

Umbra stared down at Lumis. It sounded ludicrous and unreal, and yet . . . obviously Lumis cared a great deal about him, to have sacrificed himself as he had. Had the situation been reversed, Umbra would have done the same for Lumis. They had been criminals for a long time, but they hadn't lost their hearts.

"Alright," he said at last. "I won't move. Try again."

Yami Bakura started charging the Infinity Ring again. Just before it was ready, Umbra suddenly exclaimed, "Wait!"

Everyone jumped. "What?" Yami Bakura growled, cross at the interruption.

"If your blast hits us both, what happens to me?" Umbra wondered.

"I really couldn't say," Yami Bakura retorted. "Does it make a difference?"

Umbra frowned. ". . . No," he relented. "Lumis took that blast for me, even though he knew he might never wake up from it. I'll take your blast for him." He shuddered but tried to steel himself. "I just hope this will work, and that it won't just reverse the problem. If Lumis wakes up and I'm laying hurt, he'll probably become hysterical." He had used to think Lumis was just needy and couldn't stand to be alone after finally having someone with him, but obviously that wasn't entirely true, if it was true at all.

"Oh dear," Bakura gasped.

"We'll deal with that if it happens," Yami Bakura said. "Right now let's concentrate on trying to wake him up." The Infinity Ring glowed more brightly. "Lumis, wake up and come back to your friend!"

Again the glow filled the room and everyone present had to look away. As it faded, Umbra slowly opened his eyes, half-stunned that he was still conscious. He looked down, blinking away the remaining spots from the light. "Lumis?"

The little man blinked too, staring up at Umbra in awed amazement. "Umbra . . . ?" He sat up like a shot. "Umbra, you're okay!" To Umbra's surprise, Lumis reached out to hug him.

Umbra let him and hugged back, half in disbelief that it had actually worked. "You're okay too," he finally said. "We both made it. . . ."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Bakura exclaimed. "I have to let Yugi and the others know right away! They should be able to revive Gansley now!" He grabbed his phone.

"If the Pharaoh has the same ability," Yami Bakura reminded him. "Although I can't imagine why his Item wouldn't be able to do that when mine can."

Solomon was pleased. "So it looks like the criteria for reviving someone from Reshef's darkness is to have one or more loved ones willing to risk their safety for them? . . . Oh, wait." He cleared his throat. "We may still have one little problem."

"What?!" Dr. Brisbane demanded in disbelief.

"I'm not sure Bandit Keith has any such loved ones," Solomon said.

Bakura stopped in mid-type and looked up. "You mean he might be stranded like that?!"

"It's possible," Solomon said.

"Good riddance," Yami Bakura muttered. He looked hard at Umbra. "And don't forget your vow."

"I won't," Umbra insisted.

"What vow?!" Lumis regarded him in bewilderment. "What's going on?!"

Umbra sighed. "It's a long story. But basically, we're going to have to look for new jobs. Not that we didn't need to already anyway."

"But . . ." Lumis looked to Yami Bakura, who was watching them while standing very threateningly with folded arms and a deadly glare. "If we don't go back to the Rare Hunters and jump bail to get away, aren't we going to end up in jail?"

"Well . . ." Solomon was looking at them now. "Perhaps, if you continue to help us try to put a stop to Reshef and his evil plan, we can testify in your behalf or even try to convince Kaiba to pull a few strings for you. That is, if you're willing to try making an honest living."

Lumis and Umbra exchanged a long look.

"We'll talk about it," Umbra said. "Although honestly, we don't have much of a choice here."

"Especially since Bandit Keith already fired you," Bakura said. "Why not see it as a blessing instead of a curse? You have a chance to start over with your lives! What could be more wonderful?"

Umbra scowled. "That's easy for you to say."

"That's right," Lumis said. "What would we even do?!"

"Surely you have more skills than playing some silly card game," Dr. Brisbane said.

"Yes," Lumis said slowly. "Different skills, though. . . ."

"Ah, and you would like to stay together," Solomon mused.

"Yes," Umbra said. It was strange, how close they had become after meeting in the Rare Hunters' organization. He really couldn't imagine trying to go on to something else without Lumis, especially after what they had just been through. And from Lumis's expression, he felt the same.

"Well," Solomon said, "help us and maybe something will work out for you both."

Bakura looked to him in surprise. "You have an idea, Mr. Muto?"

"Perhaps," Solomon said. "Let's wait and see if they can earn it."

xxxx

Crump's thoughts were wandering as they drove to the neighborhood where Ginger and Lou lived. Gansley was silent and still, laying on the seat of one of the limousines, and Crump couldn't help remembering something that had happened back at Siegfried's castle.

_It wasn't unusual that the Big Four were keeping vigil over Gansley and desperately hoping and praying that he would recover. But it was strange to see little Kuriboh hovering around the room, honestly worried and interested for the same reason._

"_You really hope he'll be okay, huh?" Crump said to him at one point._

"_Kuri!" said Kuriboh._

"_Yeah, us too. I know you guys had a rocky start, but you've seen that Gansley's a great guy, haven't you?" Crump said._

"_Kuri. . . ." Kuriboh looked sadly at Gansley, laying so still in the bed. It seemed so sad to see him there when he wasn't just having a good sleep. Kuriboh had even thought he wanted Gansley to get hurt, but maybe only because he had thought Gansley would never do anything to help Atem or Yugi. Now that he had been proven wrong, Kuriboh was heartbroken._

"_He always tried to keep all of us strong." Crump's voice caught in his throat and he laid his hand on Gansley's. "He always thought about all of us and how to help us and what to do for us. . . ." He trembled. "And now there's nothing we can do for him. . . ."_

"_Kuri!" Kuriboh retorted._

"_You're saying there is?" Crump blinked._

"_Kuri!" Kuriboh insisted._

"_We all love him so much. . . . He's our dad, our brother, and our buddy all at once." Crump sighed sadly. "But what do we do when he's been struck down by dark magic? How do we fix that?"_

"_Kuri!" Kuriboh pushed Crump's hand harder against Gansley's._

"_Are you trying to say we just need to be here for him and love him or something?" Crump blinked._

"_Kuri!" Kuriboh said._

"_Love's the white magic or something, huh?" Crump said. "Heh, who'd have thought. It doesn't get much cornier than that. . . . But it also doesn't get much more amazing." He gripped Gansley's hand. "We're all here rooting for you, Buddy. And we're not gonna stop until you're better. . . . Heck, we'll never stop rooting for you."_

"_Kuri!" Kuriboh chirped._

"_There's a little fluffy fuzzball here who wants you to get well too," Crump said. "I think he's really nuts about you now that he sees you're a great guy." Tears pricked his eyes. "Please come back to us, Buddy. . . ."_

_Gansley didn't respond, and both Crump and Kuriboh drooped._

Crump sighed to himself. Of course, Gansley being hurt was horrible enough by itself, but something like that always affected everybody. Johnson had mostly been quiet with Gansley struck down, probably finding it hard to accept that his oldest friend was hurt and there seemed to be no solution to wake him up. Nesbitt was angry and using that emotion to mask his helplessness and sorrow. Lector was trying to lead them, but Crump could see he was worn-out and probably felt inadequate.

"You're doing a good job, Buddy," he finally said.

Lector started and looked up. "I know Gansley has confidence in me," he said slowly.

"Of course he does," Johnson said, "and so do all of us."

"You always put our safety first," Nesbitt said. "That was all you could think about in Noa's world, making sure we all got out. You never once thought of leaving us behind. I can't say the same for myself."

"I've tried," Lector said. But even though he felt better than he had prior to Gansley speaking to him on the plane, he still had doubts, mostly about how the others felt—or one in particular.

Nesbitt realized it too. He reached over, gripping Lector's arm. "You're a good leader. Of course you can't be like Gansley; no one could. But that doesn't mean you're not good at it too."

Lector stared at him in surprise. "Nesbitt . . ." Although Lector didn't say more, it was clear from his eyes that there were still lingering hurt and haunted feelings because of the past, especially what had happened when they had become trapped in the Shadow Game based on _Bendy and the Ink Machine._

Sickened to know that was his fault, Nesbitt's grip tightened. "Don't take something I said in anger and grief to be my absolute feelings," he pleaded. "You of all people should know I say things I don't mean."

"It means a lot for you to say that, Nesbitt," Lector said at last. "I know you blurt things you don't really mean, but sometimes I wonder if there isn't some grain of truth in what you say, that it's what you feel deep down."

"No!" Nesbitt exclaimed. "No, it's not!" He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I'll admit that in my anger sometimes I'll tell myself I think something's a certain way, but when I calm down I know I don't really believe it."

Lector finally smiled. "Thank you."

The whole group suddenly jumped when Yugi made a loud and happy exclamation. "Oh wow, guys! Listen to this! 'Yami found a way to revive Lumis, by having a loved one standing by him and willing to possibly be harmed himself in order to save him! They're both alright! It must be that the power of someone's love combines with the power of the Infinity Item for success. Please let us know if the same thing works for Gansley.'"

"That's so awesome, Yugi!" Téa exclaimed. "But when are we going to be able to try it?"

"Why not right now?!" Crump demanded. "We all feel that way! It's gotta work!"

"Yeah, but . . . right here?" Yugi awkwardly looked around. Ginger seemed so cold. He wasn't likely to be impressed if they asked to stop to perform some kind of magic.

"Yeah, right here!" Crump insisted. "We shouldn't wait another minute!"

"I agree," Nesbitt echoed.

"As do I," Johnson said.

"And I as well," Lector said.

"Well . . . okay. . . ." Yugi smiled to see their determination. "Alright! Let's!"

Seto knocked on the window. "Pull over," he ordered.

Bewildered, the driver did so. The other limousines followed suit, and seeing the procession stopped, Lou stopped the blue sedan as well.

"Oh boy, here we go," Joey gulped as Ginger got out of the car and came over to them.

"What's the problem now?" he grunted.

Atem looked up at him, calmly. "We just received vital information on how to possibly revive the injured man we have with us," he said. "We didn't want to wait until we reached your street to try it. If you'll permit us, it should only take a few moments."

Ginger gave him a long, hard stare. "Then do it," he snapped, and strode away back to the sedan.

". . . Whew," Joey breathed. "I thought he wasn't gonna cooperate there. I wonder if anyone else is gonna march over too."

"They probably all got a copy of Bakura's text," Yugi said, "so I'm sure they realize why we stopped. Gansley's son and grandkids too." Peter had wanted to ride in this limousine, but Amber and Charlie felt too sad seeing Gansley lying hurt, so he had opted to take a different one. Yugi desperately hoped this would work for their sakes too.

The Big Four were already crowding around Gansley. "Go ahead, Pharaoh," Nesbitt said. "Hit us with everything you've got! We're not afraid!"

Atem nodded. "I'll try. I just hope my Item has this same power." The Infinity Puzzle started to glow as he concentrated, pouring his strength and energy into it. "Wake up, Gansley! Your friends are all here and they desperately need and want you. And you in turn need and want them!"

The glow lit up the entire limousine and every window. Ginger, Lou, and Mike spun around in the sedan to stare.

"Gansley?!" Crump leaned over their still friend. "This has gotta work! You've gotta be okay!"

"Please . . ." Lector whispered.

"Kuri?!" Kuriboh exclaimed.

Gansley's eyes slowly opened. "Lector? . . . Everyone?" He looked to each of his dear friends in amazement.

"Gansley!" Crump cried in joy. "You're okay!"

"Kuriiii!" Kuriboh shrieked, and promptly snuggled the shocked Gansley before anyone else had the chance to embrace him.

Atem laughed. "Well, he certainly loves you now."

Gansley finally drew an arm around the affectionate furball. "How is it I'm awake?" he wondered. "Has Pegasus been defeated?"

Lector squeezed Gansley's free hand. "There's a lot for you to catch up on," he said. "We'll explain on the way."

Mokuba beamed. "Alright!"

As the limousines started again, Yugi dared to look at the sedan. Before Ginger turned away, it almost looked like his expression had softened just a bit. Perhaps Ginger, too, knew what it was to love and to be loved that much.

xxxx

Gansley fully rallied very quickly, and by the time they reached Ginger and Lou's street, he was sitting up and talking with the others—and petting Kuriboh, who was still flitting around warbling in joy.

"I kind of wonder if he'll even want to go back with the other Duel Monsters when we get the portal open again," Yugi chuckled. "He's always so happy to be with us."

"Does he ever calm down?" Gansley exclaimed, honestly touched yet overwhelmed by the boundless energy.

"Sometimes," Atem said in amusement.

As the limousines stopped, Amber and Charlie flew out and ran over to where Gansley was getting out. "Grandpa!" Amber exclaimed. "You're okay!"

Gansley pulled them close. "I'm just fine now," he smiled.

Peter ran out too. "I'm so glad," he said. He shuddered. "I felt like I was just barely getting to know you and then you were laying hurt, and I didn't know if you would ever wake up. . . ."

"These magical problems always seem to have a solution, unlike logical, realistic problems," Gansley said, "so I suppose that's one good thing about them."

Overhearing, Seto just turned away and didn't respond.

Atem sighed and walked to the middle of the street with the new statue piece, which wasn't glowing at the moment. "Do you remember where it was when it started glowing, and when it stopped?" he asked Ginger and company.

"It was on the kitchen table when it started up," Lou said.

"It kept doing it around the front of the house and when we took it outside," Ginger said. "It's possible it was reacting to something in someone else's car and they drove away."

"Are all the usual cars here right now?" Atem asked.

Lou looked around. "They're not all here now, but all of them are here at night."

"And this artifact hasn't started glowing again," Ginger added, "so if it was something in a vehicle, they must have taken it somewhere else and left it there."

"Oh no!" Téa moaned. "How will we ever find it?!"

Yugi wasn't listening. Instead, he was staring across the street as a truck and camper drove up and parked. "No way!" he gasped as the occupants alighted. "It's Professor Hawkins and Rebecca!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

It didn't take long for Professor Hawkins and Rebecca to hear the familiar voice and turn to look. Rebecca's eyes immediately lit up. "Yugi!" she squealed, and ran across the street to glomp him in full view of everyone. "What are you doing here?! Did you come here to visit us?!"

"H-Hi, Rebecca," Yugi stammered, smiling awkwardly at his friend. "We didn't even know you were living here now. . . ."

"Oh, we're just moving in!" Rebecca told him. "I told you in my last email that we finally had a new house!"

"I know, but you didn't say it was down here," Yugi said. "I thought it was still in Northern California."

"Well, it's not!" Rebecca chirped. "I was going to give you the address when we finished moving in. I wanted to give it to you sooner, but Grandpa thought we should be all ready to receive visitors first!"

"Hello, Yugi, everyone," Professor Hawkins greeted as he came over. "How are you all doing?"

"We could be a lot better if we weren't chasing freaky pieces of a statue all over creation," Joey said.

"A statue?" Rebecca blinked. "What kind of a statue?"

"Here it is." Yugi held up the picture from the book. "It's broken up in eight pieces. Did you . . . er, happen to find anything like this recently, Professor?"

"Oddly enough, I did," Professor Hawkins replied. "I took it to my new laboratory to study it further."

"It's very important that we have it, if indeed it is part of this statue," Atem said. "May we see it?"

"Well . . . we just came from the lab and I wasn't planning to go back today," Professor Hawkins said slowly. But he rushed on, "However, if it's that important, I will be happy to take you all back . . . if you'll tell me everything you know about it!"

"You could ride with us so you wouldn't have to drive all that way again," Téa offered.

Yugi nodded. "And of course, we'll tell you everything we know!"

Professor Hawkins' eyes gleamed. "Thank you."

Suddenly Lector remembered Ginger and the Trevino brothers. He turned back to look at them.

"This ends our involvement, I hope," Ginger grunted.

"I believe so," Lector said. "Thank you for your assistance, Gentlemen." He gave a slight bow.

"I see you've made some new friends, Yugi?" Professor Hawkins was saying now.

Lector turned back and found the man looking at him and the rest of the Big Five.

"Well, we've known them for quite a while now, but yeah, they're 'new' friends," Yugi smiled. "I told Rebecca about them in our email correspondence."

Rebecca skipped over to Gansley. "Are you the one who tried to help Yugi when you were all stranded in an evil Shadow Game?"

". . . Yes," Gansley said slowly, wondering what all Yugi had said.

Rebecca beamed. "Thank you so much! I can't thank you enough for saving my Yugi!"

"Ahem. _Your_ Yugi?" Gansley cast a glance at Yugi in slight amusement.

Yugi flushed. "Um, how about we all get going? The whole world could be in danger."

"Oh dear, one of those things again?" Professor Hawkins sighed. "Yes, Rebecca, we'd best hurry."

Rebecca made a face. "Okay."

xxxx

As everyone regrouped into the limousines, Seto quietly slipped into a different one than before. Most of the group didn't seem to notice, but Mokuba certainly did. "Seto, why are we going in another car?" he frowned.

"I don't think I should be with all the statue pieces," Seto grunted. "Now we're going to get another one. That means we only need one other in addition to the one Yami Bakura took from Pegasus in Domino City."

"Oh." Mokuba bit his lip. "And you're still sure that when all the pieces are together, something horrible is going to happen to you?!"

"Naturally." Seto leaned back. "This force is just biding its time, waiting for all the pieces to be together to unleash its ultimate power. I don't know what's going to happen to me then, Mokuba, but I don't want you anywhere near me!"

"Seto, I'm not going to leave you!" Mokuba insisted. "And Téa and Yugi and all the rest won't either!"

"Then they're all fools," Seto snarled. "I'm dangerous, Mokuba!"

"But . . ." Mokuba looked up at him. "You're still my brother, Seto. . . ."

Seto stared back at the boy. How on Earth did he end up so blessed to have such a loyal brother? No matter what he did, Mokuba's trust was unwavering.

"I'm going to ask right now if Bakura's learned anything more about that force," Mokuba said, taking out his phone. "Pegasus might have said something and Bakura was just too excited to talk about that because of realizing how to save Gansley."

"Maybe," Seto said.

"And I'll also find out if Siegfried had any luck in Switzerland," Mokuba added. "Leon should know."

Seto leaned back and let Mokuba type. The power of love, along with the Infinity Items, had saved Gansley and Lumis. But for his situation it didn't seem that anything would work. What if he couldn't ever get this force to leave him alone? What if he would always be fighting against it? Or worse, what if he would lose?

No, he couldn't think that! He had never been a quitter in all his life, and he wasn't going to start thinking he might lose now. There had to be a way to beat this force, and somehow he was going to find it.

Mokuba gasped. "Bakura says the force is Reshef the Dark Being!" he said in horror.

Seto jumped. "A Duel Monster?"

"I guess so." Mokuba frowned. "No wonder he wants the statue rebuilt. Maybe we shouldn't complete it. . . ."

"That won't help," Seto retorted. "This Reshef will only keep possessing people until it manages to gather all the pieces of its statue. We have to destroy this enemy at its source! . . . If we only knew how."

"Maybe if Pegasus could just get hold of himself again, he'd know," Mokuba said softly.

"In his condition, I wouldn't trust anything he said," Seto said. "He might trick us and get us to do something that would only help Reshef in the end."

"Yeah. . . ." Mokuba's shoulders slumped. "But . . . there has to be _something_ we can do!"

Seto averted his gaze. He really wished he knew what. ". . . Mokuba, if anything happens . . ."

"Nothing's gonna happen!" Mokuba immediately interrupted.

"But if something does," Seto insisted, "I still have it in my will for the Ishtars to become your guardians. Do you still want that, or would you rather I ask Lector if he would be willing . . ."

"No!" Mokuba cried. "I want _you,_ Seto! I love Marik and Lector and everyone, but I don't want to lose you! You've gotta stay, Seto. . . . You've gotta. . . ."

Seto gave up. "I'll do everything I can," he promised.

Mokuba smiled. "Then everything's going to be fine, because you'll never let Reshef beat you!"

Seto sighed. He wished he had Mokuba's confidence. This was so new, and terrifying, and he just didn't know what to make of any of it. He would fight Reshef; he would even fight the Devil himself if he had to. The problem was, he just didn't know if he would win. Magic had defeated him in the past, and it had been such a traumatizing experience that he had denied the existence of magic until just a few months ago. Could he really get on top of this problem and defeat magic?

How he wished he could.

". . . I wasn't around much when we were in Germany," he said. "And Lector had problems of his own. I hope Marik was with you."

Mokuba nodded. "He tried to get me interested in stuff, and we explored for a while, but it was hard to focus. I was so worried about you. . . ."

"I'm sorry. I wish none of this had ever happened."

"It's not your fault Reshef is a big jerk." Mokuba hesitated. "Hey Seto, what do you think of Téa?"

Seto went stiff. "What?!"

"Nevermind," Mokuba quickly added. "I just wondered. . . . She's really been worried about you and trying to help you. . . ."

"I know," Seto said. "She always fights for her friends, even if it's complete idiocy to do so."

"She never thinks it is," Mokuba said. "She loves all her friends so much. . . ."

"Someday it will probably come back to bite her, especially in a mess like this," Seto said.

Mokuba sighed and didn't say more.

xxxx

In another limousine, Marik sighed too and leaned back, rubbing his eyes. "I wish I knew what to do to help Kaiba, and Mokuba. . . ."

"Right now I'm sure you're doing all you can," Rishid assured him. "Sometimes being there for someone is all that can be done."

"Maybe if we could just learn more about Reshef," Marik said.

"I am going through all of the museum's research online," Ishizu said as she scrolled through webpages on her phone, "but I'm afraid information is scarce at best."

"We already knew the statue is of Reshef, and now Bakura's sent this text that the mysterious force is the real Reshef, trying to assemble his statue." Marik frowned at the screen. "And what happens if he does? What happens to Kaiba and all the others? And if Kaiba is taken over completely . . . what about Mokuba?"

"Kaiba would never stop fighting," Ishizu assured him.

"Yes, but against Reshef, would he even stand a chance?" Marik worried.

"I believe he would," Ishizu said. "Remember, Brother, it seems that love and self-sacrifice have the power to break Reshef's dark magic. Perhaps if the Pharaoh applies the same principle to Kaiba that he used to revive Gansley, he can drive Reshef out."

"But then Reshef would just focus on someone else, like Pegasus," Marik objected. "There must be more to this, somehow. . . ." His phone dinged and he looked at it again. ". . . Mokuba says Siegfried found a statue piece in Switzerland and he and Leonhard are flying to Domino City. If what we're going to pick up now is a piece, then we'll have all of them. Once we go back to Domino and collect the other two, they'll all be together."

Rishid laid a hand on his shoulder. "And one way or another, we won't let Reshef win," he vowed.

"I know we won't," Marik said. But he was still worried.

xxxx

As it turned out, what Professor Hawkins had found was definitely a piece, and that, coupled with Siegfried finding the last piece, meant the group needed to hurry home. Rebecca, of course, wanted to help.

"We need to go with them, Grandpa!" she pleaded. "It would be a big scientific discovery for you and I want to help Yugi!"

Professor Hawkins smiled at her. "Of course we'll go, Rebecca. But you must promise me that you won't deliberately do anything dangerous."

Rebecca sighed. "I won't, Grandpa. . . . Not unless I need to, to save Yugi."

"Hopefully that won't be necessary." Professor Hawkins sighed too.

Téa was very nervous as they all prepared to head back to the airport. "Oh Yugi . . . what if something horrible really does happen when we get the other two statue pieces?" she worried.

"It probably will," Yugi said. "We'll need everyone with a magic item on hand to fight it."

Atem nodded. "It's good that we were able to revive Gansley, for more reasons than one. I'm sure he will be invaluable in this battle."

Téa hesitated. ". . . One of the people with a magic item is Kaiba," she pointed out. "If Reshef takes control of him again, and all the statue pieces are together, what if . . ." She trailed off. She had wanted to believe that Seto could fight it, and she had told him as much. But after hearing from Bakura in other texts about how badly Pegasus had fallen under Reshef's control, she couldn't help but worry. The stronger Reshef became, the harder it would probably be to break free. And if all the statue pieces were together, he would surely be extremely strong.

Yugi looked worried too. But he tried to give Téa a reassuring smile. "I'm sure Kaiba can overcome it," he said.

Atem nodded. "Pegasus sadly had a reason for joining with Reshef, and that probably keeps him bound to it. But Kaiba never wanted it and has no reason to want it."

"That's true," Téa said.

"Kaiba has more reason to want to break away from it," Atem said.

"And hey, there's something else to think about too," Joey frowned in concern. "Those Rare Hunter freaks are back there. Are they really gonna cooperate, or will they end up betraying us and trying to take the power to wake up Bandit Keith or something?"

"It doesn't sound like they could wake Bandit Keith up, Joey," Yugi said. "I'm pretty sure they don't care about him enough to make the power work, and anyway, if they tried to use Reshef's statue to do it instead of an Infinity Item, it would probably only backfire on them."

"You know, as much as we don't like Bandit Keith, that's a rotten fate for anyone," Mai remarked.

"Maybe there's another way to save him," Atem said. "Perhaps defeating Reshef would do it."

"And as for Lumis and Umbra, well . . ." Yugi shook his head. "I guess we'll just have to hope that Yami Bakura's threats will keep them in line if nothing else will." He gave a genuine smile. "After all, we've sure made friends with a lot of our enemies. I think we can afford to give them a little bit of trust, under the circumstances."

"I really hope you're right," Tristan said. "I mean, not all of our enemies are willing to turn their lives around."

"I know," Yugi sighed.

xxxx

In Domino City, there was little the others could do except search for Pegasus and wait for the other groups to reconvene. Bakura tried to cook dinner for everyone, while Oreo paced around, meowed, and regarded Lumis and Umbra with wariness.

"Does she have to do that?" Lumis scowled.

Yami Bakura sneered. "It's her house. She has a right to do as she pleases."

"Yes, but what does she think we're going to do? She doesn't even know us!" Lumis protested.

"Cats can see into people's souls," Yami Bakura replied, delighted to see Lumis squirm. "She must see that one or both of you still aren't completely trustworthy."

Umbra looked uncomfortable too, but he said to Lumis, "Just ignore them. He's obviously trying to scare us."

"And succeeding!" Lumis complained. He stormed off to the living room windowseat.

Sighing, Umbra followed him.

"Why did you have to tell him we would agree to his terms?" Lumis asked. "He's demanding that we give up our livelihood!"

"It was the only way he would agree to help me save you," Umbra told him. "And let's face it, Lumis—he has a logical point. Bandit Keith fired us. Not to mention now we don't know if he'll ever wake up again. Why not try to start over?"

"It's just . . ." Lumis stared out the window. "I don't know if I can. . . . You agreed to it, Umbra, but I didn't have a say. Now I have to conform to having my entire life uprooted?"

"It's better than not having a life, isn't it?" Umbra finally snapped. "I thought you were as good as dead! Do you think changing our lives is going to be easy for me? I liked that thought better than losing you! And apparently you were willing to die for me. Do you think dying would be easier than living honestly?"

Lumis started, not having expected Umbra's words. ". . . I didn't want to die," he said, "but I wanted to save you. . . ."

"Then we've each done something we didn't really want to do because the alternative was even worse," Umbra said. "And just as my agreeing for us to go straight affects you too, your decision to try to save me affected me. What if I hadn't been able to save you in turn? Do you think it would have been easy for me to go on alone?"

". . . No," Lumis said. "Although maybe I thought it would be easier for you to go on without me than it would have been for me to go on without you. . . ."

". . . I already thought I'd have to go on without you during Battle City," Umbra said. "When I was rescued from that flagpole, I was told you were in a coma and brain-dead."

"You never told me that," Lumis said, stunned.

"It got worse." Umbra wouldn't face him. "You didn't have any family around and I was the closest thing to it, so the doctor asked me whether to discontinue life support." He gripped his arms. "I said No. He wouldn't take that for an answer and kept pressing me for a while, insisting you'd never wake up and it would be kinder just to let go. I wouldn't. And then the next day, I guess after Marik's dark side was defeated and Marik wanted to make up for all the damage both he and his other self did, you woke up."

". . . Why didn't you ever tell me?" Lumis asked.

Umbra gave a faint shrug. "Maybe it never seemed like the right time. Or maybe I didn't want to think about almost losing you once I had you back."

". . . I wish I had known you felt that strongly about it," Lumis said.

"I wish I would have had us stay out of crime when Marik disbanded the original Rare Hunters," Umbra said. "Instead, I just let us get back into it when Bandit Keith wanted to take over."

"It wasn't just out of greed," Lumis said. "We needed the money because we couldn't find work then either. Maybe that's also why I'm worried, because we tried this before and it didn't work."

"We'll have to try to make it work now," Umbra said. "You're going to stick with me in this, aren't you?"

"Yes," Lumis said. ". . . But what I'm worried about more than anything else is that we'll have to split up to find something. . . ."

"That Solomon guy acted like he had a plan for us," Umbra said. "It'll probably be several steps down from what we're used to, but he seemed to understand we want to stay together. It's worth sticking it out to see what it is, isn't it?"

"Yes . . . if that's the only way," Lumis said.

In the kitchen, Bakura could hear parts of their conversation and he smiled to himself. "I think they'll be alright," he said. "If they care about each other that much, there should certainly be a place for them in an honest world."

"I believe so," Solomon said, "although I'd still like to see how they fare in the rest of this crisis before making any suggestions to them."

"So what is your suggestion, Dr. Muto?" Dr. Brisbane wondered.

"Well, they enjoy Duel Monsters, so I was considering seeing if they would be willing to work in a game shop," Solomon admitted. "But I don't really need any extra help and I don't want to take anything away from Yugi, so I wanted to ask Duke if he would be willing to try using them as employees at his store."

"Duke is a very cynical and skeptical person," Yami Bakura grunted. "He might not agree."

"Maybe not," Solomon said. "So let's just see how things go and figure it out then."

Dr. Brisbane looked nervously at the clock. "I wonder when the others will start arriving."

"Soon, hopefully," Solomon said. "But we had better brace ourselves for what may happen when all eight statue pieces are brought together. Reshef is a very dangerous being, as shown by what he's willing to do to manipulate his mind-control victims and his cruelty in draining people's life energies. But we have the power to counter at least of that, so we'll have to hope we have enough power to bring him down all the way."

"I certainly hope that," Dr. Brisbane sighed.

Yami Bakura stared down at the Infinity Ring. Would he be able to do what was necessary, or at least part of it? This was a battle unlike anything they had gone up against before. Reshef couldn't be worse than Zorc, but he could be plenty bad enough anyway. It was a great deal of responsibility to think of fighting against such a being for the protection of others. But while he would have scoffed and mocked such a thing in the past, now he knew that there were people he wanted to protect. He would go down fighting, if he had to.

Although hopefully, if that happened, Reshef would go down with him.

xxxx

No one was quite sure where they should meet when they all arrived in town, but Siegfried ended up going to the Kaiba Manor and texting the others about it, so they all ended up heading there as well.

"Is anybody else as nervous as me?" Crump wondered. The flight up from Los Angeles had been pleasant and without incident, which had been a nice reprieve from the chaos, but now they were all here and had to worry about it again.

"How can we really answer that question, Crump, when we don't know how worried you are?" Johnson smirked. It was a shade of his obnoxious facade, but instead of trying to be a pain, he seemed to be trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

Crump rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, real funny. You guys all realize we're probably gonna have to use our rings and stuff, right?"

"I realize," Gansley said.

Amber looked up at him. "You really use magic rings, Grandpa?"

"Yes, but it isn't really something to get excited about," Gansley told her. "We can only use them in the protection of the world. They only activate during serious crises."

"Oh. Well, I guess that's so you can't use them to make ice cream mountains or fun stuff like that," Amber said.

Gansley tried and failed to keep a straight face. "I suppose so."

Lector stared down at his ring. The power of darkness, Shadi had told him—but of night, not anything evil. However . . . what if his heart was filled with darkness? What then? He was angry at this series of calamities, and at Reshef, and he wanted to get back at Reshef for harming Gansley. Not just that, though; he wanted to stop Reshef before anyone else could get hurt, and he was willing to use any means necessary to do it.

Well, no, that was an exaggeration. He certainly wasn't going to harm the vessels Reshef was using, not if he could help it. He couldn't say he was particularly fond of any of them, but he would still do the right thing and save them. Anyway, he didn't want to hurt Seto any more in general, not now that he was really focused on knowing how that would hurt Mokuba, and Seto _had_ helped them by preserving their bodies, which was far more than some would have done.

"Lector? Hey, are you okay, Buddy?"

He looked up at Crump's concerned voice. He should have known he wouldn't be able to get away with his dark thoughts for long without being spotted.

". . . There's something we still don't know about our rings," he said. "Do you think they would activate if we had an overload of not just emotion, but dark emotion?"

Nesbitt grunted. "If they could, don't you think mine would have activated several times over by now?"

Lector sighed. "That's a good point."

Gansley looked to Lector in concern. "Are you afraid that might happen to you?"

". . . Nesbitt was worried I might lose control," Lector said.

"And you're worried as well, even if you don't want to admit it," Gansley deduced.

Lector raised a hand to his forehead. The amethyst ring gleamed under the moonlight. "I'm not going to lose control," he insisted.

Gansley sighed. "I told that to myself so many times, through so many heartaches and disasters. But the more I told that to myself while not actually dealing with my pain, the more I was poisoning myself and damaging myself for the future. And then finally I couldn't take it anymore. We're probably all lucky I broke when confronted with that wretched creature instead of someone mortal. I might be in prison now otherwise."

". . . I don't know how to deal with my pain," Lector admitted. "As you know, my father is very stern and hard. He taught me to be the same way."

"You're not like your dad," Crump said. "You can really lash out in anger at people you're upset at, like Kaiba. But you're also not like your dad because you're a good guy."

"Lashing out in supposedly righteous anger is a lot different from allowing myself to be vulnerable," Lector said. "I trust all of you, so don't worry about that, but . . . I just don't like for you to see me like that. And . . . I suppose I rarely like talking about my pain. I want to be strong, and worthy of being a good leader like Gansley." He paused, pondering. "The irony is that if something happens to any of the rest of you, I want to talk about it and I want you to talk about it. But when it happens to me, I don't."

"So basically, you don't practice what you preach," Crump said. "I guess we're mostly all like that, though. I talk about stuff if I'm upset, and so does Nesbitt, but you and the rest don't."

". . . Sometimes I don't even talk about what I'm really upset about," Nesbitt pointed out. "Sometimes I blurt things out that really have nothing to do with the real issue."

"And I guess the rest of this conversation is gonna have to wait, because we're here," Crump announced as the limousine drove through the gates of Kaiba Manor.

Lector stared up at the mansion. It had been welcoming once, then foreboding, then welcoming again. Tonight, however, it seemed ominous. But he drew a deep breath and started to get out of the car once it stopped. "Then let's get this over with."

Everyone else started to get out as well. Yugi was carrying the majority of the statue pieces, while Siegfried and Yami Bakura were waiting on the porch with the other two.

"Well," Yugi said, looking apprehensive and nervous but trying to mask it with a smile, "here we are."

"Should we really put the statue together?" Joey wondered. "I mean, that's what this creep wants, right? Why give it to him?"

"I didn't plan to put it together," Atem assured him. "The idea was just to collect all the pieces and keep them away from Reshef."

Yugi reached the porch and quickly took the pieces from Siegfried and Yami Bakura. "So now what?" he wondered. "We need to keep them someplace where he won't know about them. . . ."

"You can't keep them here," Seto flatly pointed out. "In fact, von Schroeder and I shouldn't know what you do with them at all."

"That's true," Atem nodded. "We had better take them and leave."

"Oh, going so soon?"

Everyone looked up with a start. Pegasus had suddenly leaped off a Parrot Dragon to the porch, his eye and expression wild as he towered over Yugi.

"Reshef!" Yugi commanded. "You let him go! He didn't know what he was getting in for when he agreed to help you, but I'm sure he knows now that you have no intention of helping him get Cecelia back!"

"Ooh, let him go?" Pegasus mocked. "Well, I suppose I could, but only if I can do _this!_"

Suddenly Siegfried lunged without warning, tackling Yugi to the steps and rolling down with him to the ground. Before he could get up, Seto was moving forward and grabbing for the statue pieces, all while clutching at his head with his other hand and grimacing in pain.

"No . . ." he hissed. It was what he had been afraid of, and the power was even stronger than he had thought.

"Yugi!" Téa screamed. "Kaiba!"

"Seto!" Mokuba wailed.

"Leave Yugi alone!" Rebecca shrieked.

Yugi struggled against Siegfried, desperate to get up. "Fight it, Kaiba!" he pleaded as Seto snatched the bandanna holding all eight statue pieces.

Everyone else started to run forward to help Yugi. The magic users were brandishing their items, prepared to fight. But Seto straightened with a sneer and snapped his fingers. Duel Monsters swirled down from the sky, forcing the group back.

"You're never going to get either the statue or Seto Kaiba back," he pronounced, leaping onto a Curse of Dragon. "The world belongs to Reshef now!"


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes: I've read that in the original Japanese, Marik really does tell Lumis and Umbra to make sure not to kill Yami Yugi and Seto in their Battle City duel. Very interesting. . . .**

**Chapter Sixteen**

It was Lector who acted first.

"You are not going to take over the world," he vowed. "We won't let you!" An amethyst beam shot out from his ring, blasting the Curse of Dragon back to the ground. It screeched, dazed, and Seto stumbled off, his eyes flashing with anger.

"So, that's how it's gonna be, huh?" he said darkly.

"Seto, please!" Mokuba ran forward in desperation. "This is what you were so afraid of! You've gotta fight it!"

Seto snarled and held a hand to his head. "So, you're going to side with them, Mokuba?" he spat.

"W-What?" Mokuba wavered. "Seto, what are you talking about?"

Marik came up next to Mokuba. "You can't trust anything he says in this condition, Mokuba," he insisted, even though he knew his heart would be broken if Ishizu or Rishid ever talked to him like this.

Lector nodded. "It's not your brother talking. It's Reshef."

Mokuba bit his lip. "I know, but . . . now he sounds like Seto. . . . And he's talking to me. . . ."

Yugi stumbled to his feet, stunned by the confrontation. "Kaiba. . . ."

"Kaiba, don't torture Mokuba like this!" Téa exclaimed. She ran over to the scene and in front of Seto. "You know you'd be devastated if you realized what you're saying!"

"Shut up!" Seto spat. He swiped out a hand to strike her, but then stumbled and backed up in horror. "No. . . ."

Téa stepped closer. "I'm not afraid of you, Kaiba. I know you're still fighting!"

"Traitors!" Seto screamed. "Working with that slime!" He pointed at Lector. "And that mind-controlling freak!" He indicated Marik.

"Seto!" Mokuba sobbed. "They're our friends! You know they're good now!"

Seto turned and ran up the stairs to the porch. "They're worthless! And you're worthless for working with them!" With that he ran through the doors and slammed them shut after him.

Mokuba trembled. "No . . . Seto. . . ."

Marik held him close. "You know he didn't mean any of that," he soothed. "We're going to save him and it's going to be alright."

Mokuba clutched his friend. "Yeah, but . . . how bad off would he have to be to actually say that?" he quavered. "Reshef really must have a strong hold on him now. . . ."

"Reshef must want the magic of Kaiba's ring," Atem realized. "Kaiba is the only victim who has magic."

"Mokuba, can you get us inside the mansion?" Lector asked. "There must be ways in that you know about."

"I can try," Mokuba said, "but Seto might block them all. . . ." He went back to the car for his laptop.

"And do we really have to go in with these two?" Gansley indicated Lumis and Umbra, who had been awkwardly standing to the side of the group not sure what to do. "You'll forgive me if I don't trust them after what they tried to do earlier tonight."

Lumis cringed. "I guess it wouldn't help if I said we weren't really going to hurt your grandkids?" he said. "We were just using Masked Beast Des Guardius as an empty threat."

Umbra nodded. "Lumis just asked if you could afford to take the chance we didn't mean it," he added. "But we really didn't."

"What about Atem and Kaiba on top of that skyscraper?" Yugi frowned. "They were in serious danger in that duel with you two!"

"Marik told us to make sure they didn't get hurt or killed," Umbra said. "They were just supposed to think they were in danger."

"That's right," Marik admitted. "That duel was only a distraction. But of course it was still a very sadistic thing to do, and I feel horrible I encouraged them to do it."

Umbra gave Marik a strange look. This was the first time they had really seen or interacted with him at all since they had worked for him. He certainly didn't seem like the cruel madman they had worked under in the past. Umbra was still suspicious, knowing how effortlessly Marik had slipped into the guise of Namu, but . . . what if he really had changed, like these people seemed to think? What other reason would he have for backing up their story? He could have easily lied and said Umbra was lying.

"Yeah, well, I don't trust you two either," Tristan countered. "Why didn't you just go straight when Marik broke up the Rare Hunters? Why did you get right back into it under Bandit Keith?"

Lumis scowled at the grass. "Times were tough," he mumbled. "And . . . we liked the rare cards. . . ."

"We don't have time for this," Yami Bakura interrupted. "We need to get inside!"

"That's Mokuba's department," Tristan said. "We can't do anything until he figures out how to do it." He glowered at Lumis and Umbra. "I'm sure that if Kaiba was in his right mind, he wouldn't want you creeps in his house."

"Yes, but he's not in his right mind," Lumis pointed out. "That's the whole problem!"

"I'm sure you two don't want to get into any life-threatening situations," Tristan said, folding his arms. "At the first sign of trouble, you'll run for it."

"Naturally we don't want to get into any life-threatening situations," Umbra retorted. "But we don't have much choice but to help out here."

"Some of us will definitely be keeping an eye on you," Duke said.

"Hey, what happened to Mr. Pegasus and Mr. von Schroeder?" Serenity suddenly remembered.

They looked around in stunned surprise. The other two businessmen were lying sprawled on the grass.

Atem quickly checked their life signs. "They're both unconscious," he said. "I'm guessing Reshef has abandoned them both to focus on Kaiba."

"Someone needs to look after them," Duke frowned. "And I wonder where Leon is. . . ."

"I'll stay back to take care of them," Solomon said. "I'll ask von Schroeder about Leon when he wakes up."

"I'll stay with you," Dr. Brisbane said. He ducked nervously as a Curse of Dragon flew past, dangerously low to the ground. Its tail smacked him on the back.

"Aww man," Joey frowned. "I wonder if there's gonna be a lot of aggressive Duel Monsters now."

"With Reshef in control? Most likely," Mai said.

"Rebecca, you and I should stay back as well," Professor Hawkins told her.

"What?! No!" Rebecca cried. "I want to help Yugi!"

"This would help, Rebecca," Yugi said. "Siegfried and Pegasus will probably be really upset when they wake up. You can help calm them down."

"Well . . ." Rebecca scowled. "Okay. But only for you, Yugi."

"Sure," Yugi smiled.

Gansley looked to Peter. "You and the children really shouldn't stay here," he said. "It's not safe at all. You'd better go to a hotel and register under false names."

Amber didn't like that idea at all. "But Grandpa! You might get hurt again!"

"I'll be careful," Gansley assured her. "But it will only make things worse if I need to worry about keeping all of you safe as well."

"We could help fight!" Charlie protested.

"No, he's right, kids," Peter said. "We'll go. But . . ." He reached out of the limousine window, grasping Gansley's hand. "Please be careful, Dad. One close call is one too many."

"I most certainly agree," Gansley said, squeezing Peter's hand.

Mokuba ran out of a different limousine then. "Okay!" he announced. "I think the back way is still open. We go through a trapdoor into the basement. Maybe the supercomputer will help us!"

"Doesn't it only respond to Mr. Kaiba?" Lector frowned.

"She'll respond to me too," Mokuba said, "and once she knows Seto's in trouble, I'm sure she'll help!"

"Let's hope so," Atem said in concern.

The group hurried across the lawn, keeping to the shadows to try to stay out of sight of the security cameras. Mokuba soon found the trapdoor and pulled it up, then rushed down the steps to the basement door. Everyone else ran in after him, with the last person in line closing the door after them.

"This had better work," Nesbitt grunted.

Mokuba tapped in the security code and let the system scan his retina. "Okay!" he said in relief as the door slid open. "We're in!"

Now they were in the downstairs library. It was mostly in darkness, with only dim lights on overhead.

"Isn't it weird that we could get this far?" Duke frowned. "I mean, if Reshef is so powerful, wouldn't he read Kaiba's mind and know about this place? What if we've walked into a trap?"

"We'll just have to hope we're not," Yugi said. "We have to try this!"

Mokuba moved a particular book and a secret panel slid open. After another retina scan, another door opened and the computer room was revealed. He ran over to the middle screen and turned the supercomputer on.

"Mokuba! What goes on around here?" the supercomputer exclaimed after putting him through a name and voice verification check. "Seto's acting like a madman!"

"Because he's being controlled by some evil freak," Mokuba said. "What's he doing? I know he started locking down the house when he ran in."

"You're not kidding! It looks like he's bringing in a new security force," said the supercomputer. "Take a look." Images from security cameras around the house filled the screen. Most rooms were empty, but Seto was stepping onto the upstairs balcony and calling several dangerous Duel Monsters to him, including a team of Vorse Raiders.

"Oh man, not those things," Tristan said in horror.

Lumis cringed. All the Vorse Raiders were sneering in cruel and sadistic ways as they clutched their weapons. Some were visibly stained with blood.

"That . . . doesn't look good," Crump gulped. "We've gotta get past all that?! We don't even have any Duel Monsters with us except Kuriboh!"

Kuriboh chirred. As much as he liked barreling into fights to protect his masters, the sight of so many Vorse Raiders was intimidating even to him.

"We have no choice," Atem said. "We'll have to try summoning some Duel Monsters as well, but if we can't, we'll have to take them on anyway."

Gansley glowered at the scene. He was relieved that he had insisted on Peter and the children going to a hotel instead of coming along. This was no place for small children. He hated exposing any of his loved ones to the possible danger as it was.

"We should have tried in the first place," Yami Bakura growled.

"Yes, but we didn't know Kaiba would summon Duel Monsters," Bakura retorted. "We didn't think we'd need any to face him!"

"Some of us had better go back through the trapdoor and try to call Duel Monsters from there," Atem said.

"But will any come?" Joey frowned. "Maybe it'll only work for magic users."

"Perhaps," Atem said, "but maybe good Duel Monsters will come if they sense anyone with a pure heart in need."

Over the next few minutes, he led a group of several back through the trapdoor, not feeling they should all try at once. At the top, he and the rest desperately concentrated.

_Please . . . help us,_ he silently transmitted. The Infinity Puzzle glowed.

In a few minutes several Duel Monsters appeared, led by Dark Magician. Atem smiled in relief. "Hello, my old friend."

Dark Magician nodded to him and stepped inside. "We will help you however you need us, my Pharaoh," he greeted.

Dark Necrofear went over to Yami Bakura. _Master. . . ._

Yami Bakura smirked, pleased. "It's good to see you again," he said. "Oh . . . these people aren't our enemies now," he grunted, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the Big Five. The last time she had seen them, they had been very antagonistic.

She studied them, giving Johnson in particular a cool look that made him shudder. But then she nodded. _Very well._

Also present were all of the Duel Monsters who had served as the Big Five's Deckmasters in Noa's world. The businessmen stared in awe at the procession.

"Robotic Knight is real," Nesbitt gasped.

"And here to serve you," Robotic Knight said with a bow.

The others each went to their respective masters. Jinzo towered over Lector, while Nightmare Penguin squawked a greeting to a starry-eyed Crump. Deepsea Warrior and Judge Man quickly found Gansley and Johnson.

"That's kinda weird," Joey remarked. "Seein' them separate from you guys, I mean. I only realize now just how much I ended up associating all those Duel Monsters with you five."

The Flame Swordsman appeared at Joey's side. "It's good to fight alongside you again, Master," he said.

"Hey! Alright!" Joey beamed.

Silent Magician glided through the group to find Yugi, who looked up at her in surprise. "Oh . . . hi!" he gasped.

"With this all-star team of monsters, Reshef had better look out," Joey grinned. "Let's go kick those Vorse Raiders around the place!"

Téa was stunned to see Dark Magician Girl come over to her. "Dark Magician Girl?!"

"Téa." Dark Magician Girl smiled. "I know how badly you want to save Kaiba. I will help you."

"Thank you," Téa whispered. "So much. . . ."

A Cyber Harpie wandered in to find Mai, followed by several other Duel Monsters. Revival Jam happily leaped into Marik's arms.

"It's starting to look like everyone has one," David said in amazement.

Even Mokuba had a Duel Monster. He didn't really play Duel Monsters much, so he wasn't expecting to find any help here, but Swordstalker walked over to him and he started.

"You're gonna help me?" he exclaimed.

Swordstalker growled in agreement.

The last one to lumber in was Masked Beast Des Guardius, who pulled the trapdoor shut again before going down the stairs to Lumis and Umbra.

"Where did you wander off to before?" Umbra grunted.

He shrugged.

"Uh . . . is that really gonna fit in the house?" Joey wondered.

"He had better," Lumis said.

Gansley gave the beast a cool, searching look.

"Alright," Yugi smiled. "We should have more than enough power to take on Reshef's army. Let's go up and find them!"

"Good luck," said the supercomputer. "Rescue Seto!"

"We sure will," Mokuba vowed.

xxxx

Seto slumped against the wall as all of the Duel Monsters he had summoned spread out to patrol the area. "Why . . . why are you doing this?!" he hissed at Reshef.

"_You have power, you have resources, and I require both," _Reshef laughed. _"And unlike those other fools, you possess magic. How strange that you resist using it with all your heart."_

Seto clenched his teeth. "I hate magic!" he snarled. "If it wasn't for magic, you wouldn't even be here tormenting me!" He gripped the wall behind him. "I'll defeat you with my willpower and strength."

"_It takes willpower and strength to properly wield magic," _Reshef said. _"You would be showing your force of will to use it well."_

"If it takes magic to get rid of you, I'll use it," Seto vowed. But he had to admit to himself that he wasn't sure how to do that any more than he was sure how to force Reshef out by sheer strength of will. He could use the ring to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon or blast beams of light, but if it could do anything else he hadn't figured it out yet.

"_You know what's strange, Seto Kaiba?"_ Reshef mused. _"My element is Light and yet I certainly don't use those powers for good. I admit I use them for purely selfish reasons. Yet everyone thinks that Light is always good._

"_Your element is Light as well. But what do you want to use your power for? Do you want to protect the world, or would you rather build yourself up further in the eyes of the world? I know you are arrogant and vain and want to win at everything."_

"I don't need some stupid magic to win," Seto snorted. "I got myself to where I am with hard work and perseverance. If I had to use magic, I wouldn't feel I even really earned the victory. It's the easy way out."

"_I know you have also used people to get to the top," _Reshef said. _"Those men who have the other rings . . . you cheated and betrayed them and they were righteously angry about it. And you weren't even above manipulating your younger brother."_

"Shut up!" Seto snapped.

"_You told Yugi Muto that you were willing to do whatever you had to do to get things done,"_ Reshef said. _"Judging from your actions, that included manipulating and hurting people. We may be a better fit than you want to accept."_

"No!" Seto hit the wall and pushed away from it. "Everything I did was always to give Mokuba a better life. I never did anything just for myself!"

"_So Mokuba would have a better life if you beat Yugi Muto at Duel Monsters?"_ Reshef mocked.

Seto growled.

"_You know I have you there,"_ Reshef said. _"And anyway, do you really think Mokuba would have a good life knowing you were falling into the darkness?"_

Seto brought a shaking hand to his forehead. "I've tried to change," he hissed. It wasn't easy, but ever since he had consciously vowed to get past his hatred, he had made the effort to do so. He had learned to effectively fight as part of a team by the time Dartz had struck. He had helped saved Yugi and the others in the fight against Zorc. And he had fought for their safety and the protection of the world ever since Shadi had given him that blasted magic ring.

"_Do you think it matters?" _Reshef continued. _"Do you think all the good acts you've done could ever erase the bad? Can you ever truly be cleansed of the past? What about what you said to your brother and that girl right before you ran in here? Do you honestly think any of that group still cares about you now? You've shown you're still a cruel and selfish being at heart, and by now even your precious brother surely knows it."_

"What I said?" Seto trembled. "I . . . I don't remember. What did I say?!"

"_They've all turned on you, Seto Kaiba. Just accept it and give in to my power. We can be an unstoppable force, just the two of us."_

"You filth." Seto straightened. "I'll never give in to you. And I'm sure whatever I said, it was really you talking through me!"

"_Will they believe that? Or will they remember all the hurtful things you said in the past and just think you're reverting back to your roots? After all, no one can really change. They're always the same at heart, whether that's good . . . or bad."_

". . . Not true." Seto forced himself to start walking down the hall. "I know I have changed. And so have a lot of the people in that group. Marik and Lector are trustworthy. So is almost everyone else." He didn't know what to think of Lumis and Umbra.

"_They're just biding their time until they can betray you and Mokuba and everyone again."_

"I'm not going to listen to you," Seto insisted. "You'll say anything to make people believe your lies."

A sigh. _"I was hoping we could do this the easy way. I can see I will have to take more . . . extreme measures. Farewell, Seto Kaiba."_

Excruciating pain burst through Seto's brain. He screamed, falling to his knees as he clutched his head with both hands. When he straightened, the look in his eyes was not his own. He picked up the bandanna, carrying the statue pieces to where he would assemble them to unlock his full power.

xxxx

The group was just making their way up the stairs to the ground floor at that moment. When Seto's scream echoed through the halls, Yugi looked up with a jerk. "Kaiba!" he gasped.

"Seto!" Mokuba immediately made a mad dash for the stairs.

Marik was promptly at his side. "Don't make any rash moves, Mokuba," he warned. "Reshef must have done something terrible."

"Then that's all the more reason I have to go!" Mokuba insisted. He flew up the steps with Swordstalker lumbering behind him.

"I'm coming with you!" Téa cried, chasing after him.

"Aren't we all going?" Lumis retorted.

Some of the Vorse Raiders stepped out after Mokuba and Téa ran through, brandishing their weapons with sickening sneers.

"It doesn't look like it," Yami Bakura grunted. "Not until we get past Kaiba's sentries."

A battle between Duel Monsters broke out. When it finally ended, the Vorse Raiders were defeated but some of the other monsters had been injured.

"Oh no," Bakura exclaimed, kneeling beside one of the wounded monsters.

"Everyone who can still go on ahead had best do it," Atem said. "It worries me that the Vorse Raiders let Mokuba and Téa through before stopping the rest of us. Why would they want those two to get past?"

"It's probably some sort of sinister scheme of Reshef's," Gansley growled. "They allowed someone Kaiba cares about more than anyone else to proceed."

"That would explain Mokuba, but what about Téa?" Joey frowned.

"Nevermind!" Marik snapped. "Let's go!" He grabbed Revival Jam in his arms and ran up the stairs, terrified for Mokuba's safety, and Téa's as well.

Most of the rest of the group chased after him.

It wasn't any real surprise when more Duel Monsters greeted them at the top. The monsters on both sides crashed into the fray, clawing and swiping and shooting off magic blasts. The humans tried to slip past in any cracks they could.

"They mean business," Lumis gulped. "How are we ever going to find Seto Kaiba?!"

"Not just that, but what are we supposed to do when we find him?!" Umbra scowled. "It's not like we'd have any power to get him out of Reshef's mind-control! In fact, we'd probably make it worse. He didn't want us along. Not that you can blame him."

Lumis was barely listening. "What's that coming out of the wall over there?!" he gasped.

Umbra looked. "Not just that, what's that girl doing over there?!" He ran over, grabbing Serenity's arm. "Get away from that!"

Serenity yelped in surprise and stumbled forward when Umbra pulled her. At the same moment, something slashed into his shoulder. He cried out in pain, his grip loosening.

"Umbra!" Lumis screamed. He tried to run over, but was stopped by another Vorse Raider. The beast leered at him, raising his weapon. Lumis shrank back, terrified. He was going to die. . . .

No. No, he wasn't. This thing was preventing him from getting to Umbra, and he wasn't going to stand for that! His eyes flamed in his anger and he ran forward, ducking between the creature's legs to run to his friend.

"What's going on over here?!" Joey yelled. His Flame Swordsman cut down the Vorse Raider. "Umbra?! Get away from Serenity, you . . . !"

"No, Joey!" Serenity interrupted. "He saved me from that Shadow Ghoul, and now it hurt him!"

Joey rocked back. "What?!"

Umbra hissed in pain, tightly gripping his shoulder. Blood oozed out between his fingers. "It's nothing," he said.

"It's not nothing!" Lumis shrieked. "Did you see the size of those claws?!"

"Oh man." Joey looked around in desperation. "We've gotta find a room where we can treat this."

"Doesn't somebody have a Duel Monster with healing powers?!" Lumis demanded.

"I don't know," Joey gulped. He was starting to panic now too. Even with Duel Monsters, they were all in danger. And Umbra had protected Serenity; Joey didn't want him to suffer. How bad was an attack from a Shadow Ghoul on a human?

"What if it's even poisonous?!" Lumis wailed now.

"Lumis! Lumis, stop." Umbra was starting to panic now too, but he was trying not to show it. "I'm going to be fine. Just calm down."

"I can't calm down!" Lumis shot back. He sounded about ready to cry.

Nearby, Crump looked over with a start. "That could be any of us next," he worried.

Lector swore under his breath.

Crump started. "I've never heard you say that before, Buddy." It was only a mild word, but as the Southern gentleman, Lector had never even said that much in anyone's presence.

"Right now, it seemed like the time for it," Lector said. Shaken, he looked away from the scene with Umbra and to where Jinzo was blasting away the Shadow Ghoul with his laser glasses.

Gansley drew an arm around Lector's shoulders. "We're all going to come through this," he insisted.

He prayed he was right.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes: There's a heartbreaking sketch on DeviantArt of Lumis reacting to Umbra's parachute not opening, and that made me wonder if he ever had nightmares about that scenario.**

**Chapter Seventeen**

When Mokuba caught up to Seto, he was in his bedroom, shaking all the statue pieces out of the bandanna.

"Seto!" Mokuba cried. He ran in and tried to grab for one of the nearest pieces. "No, you can't do this! You know you don't want to!"

"Shut up!" Seto snarled. He lunged. "And give me that, you little brat!"

Mokuba leaped out of the way. "You're not Seto!" he spat. "Seto would never talk like that to me! I'm not giving you anything!"

Seto straightened and sneered, folding his arms. "Oh really? Well, why don't you look behind you?"

Mokuba started. "Huh?" He turned, just in time to see Vorse Raider intercepting his Swordstalker. "Come on! Swordstalker is more powerful than Vorse Raider!"

"True, and I'm more powerful than you." Seto grabbed Mokuba's hand, wrenching the statue piece out of his grasp.

"Seto, no!" Mokuba cried. He clenched his teeth in pain as Seto lifted him off the floor by his wrist. "Please . . . stop. . . . You're hurting me. . . . You'd never hurt me if you could help it. . . ."

Seto kept lifting him until they were practically eye level with each other. "Seto's not here anymore," he said. "And he never will be again."

Mokuba went stiff. "What are you saying?!"

"I destroyed his soul," was the horrific whisper. "He's gone."

"_NO!"_ Mokuba screamed. He struggled in desperation to get free. "Seto can't be gone! I won't believe you!"

"I won't either!"

Both started and turned as Téa arrived on the scene, in the company of her Dark Magician Girl. She stood with her hands on her hips, glowering at Reshef as he looked out from Seto's eyes.

"Téa," Mokuba gasped.

Reshef snarled, tossing Mokuba to the floor as he scowled at the new arrival. "And why don't you believe it?" he demanded. "You know I'm not him. And you can see that unlike before, he's not rising to the surface to try to wrest control of his body away from me."

Téa ran over and knelt by Mokuba in concern. "Mokuba . . . !"

"I'm okay, Téa." Mokuba turned to look at her, and from his eyes it was obvious that while he wasn't hurt physically, emotionally he was anything but okay. Téa blinked back tears as she held him close and turned to glare at Reshef towering over them.

"I don't believe anyone can destroy souls," Téa said. "But even if I did, I'd never believe you could destroy Kaiba's. Some people can go through all kinds of horrible situations, and even if their souls get tarnished, they're never corrupted to the point of no return. You don't know how hard Kaiba has fought for everything he has, and how hard he's tried to climb back to the light after falling into the darkness. Someone like you could never destroy someone that strong! Kaiba is everything you could never be!"

Reshef snarled. "Well, nevermind. You're wrong, but I don't have time to argue with you." He waved his hand and several Vampire Lords and Patricians of Darkness appeared. "These monsters have the same power levels as yours, if not stronger due to their special abilities. They will protect me while I assemble my statue, and there won't be anything you can do about it."

"No . . . !" Téa cried helplessly.

Mokuba stared at the deadly monsters. "You big creeps!" he spat. "Seto will come back and he'll make you stand down."

But as Reshef began to swiftly put the pieces in place, it didn't look like interference from Seto was likely.

xxxx

Marik was tense. Since he and Lector knew the mansion almost as well as the Kaibas, they were leading some of the group to a room where Umbra could be looked at and treated. The fights between Duel Monsters continued all around them, and several of Reshef's army tried to lash out to harm other humans.

Lector was having none of it. "Leave them alone!" he boomed. Any Duel Monster that got out of line was swiftly blasted with his ring.

The other Big Five members, as well as Atem and Yami Bakura, were likewise trying to use their magic items to keep their enemies at bay. But it was obvious to all of them that Lector's worry and righteous anger was pushing his stress level even higher.

"Lector, you must calm down!" Gansley said sternly as Marik guided them to the room at last.

"I'm not going to let anyone else be hurt," Lector insisted.

"If you're not careful, the person getting hurt this time will be you," Gansley said.

They quickly went into the room and shut the doors. Masked Beast Des Guardius stood at the doors, ready to attack anything that tried to come through.

"Who's gonna help Umbra?!" Lumis exclaimed. "Nobody here is a doctor!"

"No, but I served in that capacity in past years," Rishid said. "There may be something I can do for the time being until we can get him to Kaiba's medical center."

Lumis looked up at him in surprise. "Rishid. . . ." He supposed it shouldn't be a shock that Rishid would help, and yet it was, especially since the Rare Hunters had gone along with Bandit Keith's plans to get revenge on Marik. Lumis had thought Rishid wouldn't want anything to do with any of them.

Umbra voiced those thoughts. "You'd help _us?_"

Rishid sighed. "Yes. I will try to respect this alliance, both in general and because I know Marik would want it that way."

Marik nodded. "I do."

Ishizu said, "Marik didn't ever want any of the Rare Hunters to know it, but he did all that he could to help any who needed medical attention. He didn't think they would accept the money if they knew it was from him. He paid your hospital bill, Lumis."

Lumis rocked back, stunned. "He . . . did?"

"Yes, I did," Marik said.

"But . . . we tried to hurt you," Lumis stammered.

"I deserved it," Marik said, "although anyone else who ended up hurt because of your schemes did not. Anyway, let's not talk about it right now. We need to deal with the current problem."

Rishid nodded. "Sit down here." He guided Umbra to the couch and gently pushed him down. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to tear your clothing."

"What difference does it make now?" Umbra said in resignation. "It's already torn."

"Very well." Rishid pulled the tattered material away from the wounds. When he stiffened at the clear sight of them, Lumis panicked even more.

"How bad is it?!" he shrieked.

"I don't know," Rishid said stiffly. "Marik, please bring that table lamp over here. Ishizu, see if there's a first aid kit in the bathroom."

Marik and Ishizu nodded and hurried to collect the items.

"Lumis, you're making everything worse," Umbra told him. "If you can't calm down, please just . . . go across the room or hide in the bathroom or something. Don't watch!"

Lumis choked and turned away, gripping his arms.

As soon as he wasn't looking, Umbra swayed and fell back, holding a hand to his forehead. Even if nothing serious in his shoulder had actually been cut through, he was losing a lot of blood and that was serious enough.

Rishid shook his head in concern. Umbra must have been growing dizzy for some time but had tried to hide it because of his friend. As Marik and Ishizu returned with the needed objects, he quickly started to work at cleaning the wounds.

Lumis turned back to look. Seeing the cruel marks was too much; he turned and fled into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. Within moments they could all hear him hopelessly sobbing.

Lector was chilled in spite of himself. He was worried about Mokuba and desperately wanted to get back out to find him, but he was certainly starting to feel compassion for these two. They had lost their way, but they still loved each other. He wanted them to be alright.

"Maybe someone should try to talk to him," Serenity said in concern.

"He obviously wants to be alone right now," Duke said. "He's probably still afraid there might be poison."

"I hope there isn't," Ishizu said. "We're certainly not equipped to deal with poison from a Duel Monster." _And then Umbra really might die. . . ._ She didn't want that for his sake or for Lumis's.

". . . I'm relieved he's gone for the moment," Umbra said. "He can't handle anything happening to me; he completely shut down when I fell in Battle City." He looked at Rishid. "Tell me honestly, what do you think?"

"It doesn't look like the Shadow Ghoul cut through any muscles or tendons in your shoulder," Rishid said. "I can't tell if its claws were poisoned, but I've never heard that a Shadow Ghoul's attack is poisonous. These wounds do need stitches. And if you've lost too much blood . . ."

"I know." Umbra frowned.

"I did have to sew Marik up a time or so when he was injured while playing," Rishid said. "It would be best if I could take care of this now, since we don't know how long we might be trapped in this house. But . . . there may not be any thread anywhere around. . . ."

"Velma probably has some," Marik realized. "If she's ever used this room, she might have left some of her sewing equipment here." He handed the lamp to Tristan and started going through all the drawers in the room.

Umbra looked wary. "What if you can't find any?"

"Then I can only bandage it as best as possible and pray we won't be stranded long," Rishid said.

From Umbra's expression, he wasn't sure which option was worse.

Serenity walked over to Joey and Duke, her eyes filled with anguish. "This is awful," she said. "I don't want people getting hurt protecting me!" She started to cry. "First Mr. Nesbitt and now Mr. Umbra. . . ."

"Hey, I'm sure he'll be okay, Sis," Joey tried to encourage her.

"And his poor friend is so worried. . . . He probably blames me, and he's right." Serenity shook her head. "I shouldn't have come. I should have stayed home like you both wanted!"

"Serenity, that's not true," Duke frowned. "You've helped us a lot, both now and in the past."

"Yeah, and the Duel Monster who came for you is one of the most powerful ones we've got," Joey added. "She wouldn't be here if you weren't here. We probably never would've even made it in here if it weren't for her!"

Serenity slowly looked to him. "Really?"

"Would your big brother lie to you? Of course really!" Joey pulled her close. "And them Rare Hunters, well, I've gotta say they're fighters and survivors. Umbra is gonna be just fine."

Serenity slowly smiled. "Thanks, Joey. Duke."

There was definitely no thread in the room and it didn't seem likely that they would be able to find Velma and her thread in all the chaos, so Rishid had started to set about binding the wounds as best he could.

Umbra stared off into the distance, lost in his thoughts. ". . . Lumis never admitted it, but I think he used to have nightmares that my parachute failed. Several times after Battle City I'd wake up in the middle of the night with him peeking into my room. Once I heard him screaming in his sleep and calling out to me, but when I got him awake he wouldn't tell me what was wrong."

"I was never sure if you really cared about each other or not," Atem said. "It's obvious now that you do."

Marik looked nervously towards the doors. "And some of us have got to get back out there and find the others," he worried.

"Umbra shouldn't be moved," Rishid said.

"Rishid and I will stay with him and Lumis," Ishizu said. "The rest of you should go."

Marik hesitated. "Are you sure, Sister?"

"Yes." Ishizu smiled at him. "Go find Mokuba and the rest."

Finally Marik nodded. He really did want to be among the group that went. "Alright. Thank you both."

Masked Beast Des Guardius stepped aside just enough to let them slip out one of the doors. The moment something else tried to come in, he slashed at it.

Joey jumped. "Man, I'm glad that thing is on our side!"

Lector was tensing up again as they moved back into the fray. When a Vorse Raider got too close to Johnson, Lector blasted it before Jinzo had a chance. He had to keep these Duel Monsters from hurting his loved ones. He couldn't let any of them suffer again. He couldn't!

He was so occupied with his frantic task that he didn't notice how he was wearing out. He wasn't used to magic and certainly wasn't used to the sheer force of will it took to keep using it over and over in rapid succession. When he stumbled and fell back against Gansley, it was more of a shock to him than to Gansley.

"Lector, you have to slow down!" Gansley said sternly. He kept a firm hold on Lector as he pushed his friend upright. "You're burning yourself out!"

"You don't understand," Lector protested. "I have to do this. I have to. . . ."

"Buddy, we've got our Duel Monsters to do this!" Crump exclaimed. "We hardly ever use our rings. You're running yourself ragged trying to have the strength to keep using yours!"

Lector clenched his teeth. "I can keep going."

As they ran down the hall, a sudden scream from Mokuba chilled both Lector and Marik.

"Mokuba!" Marik cried. He ran forward, narrowly missing a strike from a Vampire Lord. Revival Jam jumped in the way and took the hit, then swiftly reformed.

"That's a handy Duel Monster," Crump said.

Lector was also desperately trying to get to Mokuba. "Mokuba, where are you?! What's going on?!" he called.

"Reshef's putting the statue together!" Mokuba yelled back. "Téa and I can't get to him!"

Without warning the entire house shook. Several people fell on the floor, while others crashed into each other or the walls.

"What the heck's going on?!" Crump yelped.

"If I had to guess, I'd say he just completed the statue!" Gansley retorted.

Johnson shakily adjusted his glasses. "So . . . where are we going and why are we in a hand-basket?" he gulped.

"I hate to say it, but I actually get that joke," Duke said. "And in this case, I'm afraid I agree. If Kaiba's completely flipped and Reshef has total control, we're all done for!"

The next sound they heard was maniacal laughter. It was Seto's voice and yet it was not Seto's voice. In a moment he floated out of a nearby room, actually hovering above the floor as he carried the completed Reshef statue with him. Mokuba and Téa, finally released from the barrier of enemy Duel Monsters, chased after him.

"Kaiba, stop!" Téa screamed. "I'm begging you, _please!_" She tripped and fell to her knees, but continued, "I know you're not likely to listen to me for my sake, but what about Mokuba?! You have to break free for Mokuba!"

Seto's eyes flickered. "Mokuba . . ." To Téa's shock, he continued, "Téa . . ." He wavered, falling back to the floor on his feet.

"Seto!" Mokuba started to run to him. "I knew Reshef was lying that he'd destroyed you!"

The cruel look returned and Seto swiped out, nearly knocking Mokuba to the floor. "Oh, he's gone, alright," Reshef replied. "I just did that to torture you more."

"No," Téa whispered helplessly.

"Seto. . . ." Mokuba looked up at his brother's body. "No . . . you have to be there. . . ." Tears slipped from his eyes. "You can't be gone."

Reshef sneered. "I love to see the pain and heartbreak of utter despair."

Something snapped in Lector's heart at the sight of Mokuba's agony. "Leave him alone," he snarled, stepping forward.

"You dare to challenge me?" Reshef snapped. "Now that the statue is complete, I have all of my powers. I could strike everyone in this room down with one attack if I activate my laser beams."

"He's right!" Yugi exclaimed. "Lector, be careful!"

"Oh, I dare to challenge you, alright," Lector replied. "I'm tired of everyone I love being targeted by madmen! What good are these rings if we can't use them to protect the people we care about?!"

"Your little ring would do very little damage to me," Reshef mocked. "You wouldn't really be that foolish, would you?"

"Lector, what are you doing?!" Nesbitt demanded. "Don't try to fight him alone! We all have rings!"

"Yes, and I have the sixth ring," Reshef said, raising his right hand. "I wonder what would happen if ring fought against ring?" For a moment he pointed the diamond ring at Lector. Then, at the last moment, he turned and pointed it at Mokuba. The blast started to activate.

Lector roared. With one vicious blast he took the ring right off of Reshef's finger and sent it spinning across the floor, where Téa grabbed it. Before Reshef had a chance to fully process what had just happened, Lector was blasting at the statue, over and over again, until at last it shattered and pieces flew in all directions.

"No!" Reshef cried. Abandoning the fight, he rushed to collect the pieces once again, while his enemies dived to beat him to it.

Lector stood, breathing heavily, his strength finally spent. Oblivion swept over him and he crashed to the floor with a weak moan.

Mokuba screamed. "Lector?! Lector, no!" He crawled over to his former caretaker and desperately shook him on the shoulder. "Lector, get up! It can't be like before, in New Orleans. You've gotta get up! Please. . . ." Tears came to his eyes. "Please. . . ."

Nesbitt ran over and knelt down. "Lector?!" He grabbed the limp hand. He feared the worst, but this time he felt a weak throb. "Thank God, he's alive.

"Lector, what were you thinking?!" he boomed. "Acting rash is my department! You're not supposed to . . . you're not . . ." He slammed his fist into the floor with a snarl.

Gansley ran over too. "Oh Lector. . . ." He dropped to one knee. "You just couldn't take it anymore, just as I couldn't in the past. It's hard . . . struggling to be strong for everyone else . . . watching them all suffer . . . and suffering yourself more than you feel you can ever admit. . . ." He laid his hand on Lector's. "Finally something just gives way."

"He's going to be alright, isn't he?!" Mokuba demanded.

"I hope so," Gansley said.

Mokuba bit his lip. "I know Seto's still here. . . . I felt him struggling to the surface when Reshef tried to blast me. I think . . . even if Lector hadn't shot his ring right off, Seto would have stopped Reshef from hurting me. . . ."

"I think you're right," Gansley said. "And he's fighting hard right now."

Mokuba looked up. Seto was trembling in the middle of the floor, a hand digging into his hair. "No . . ." he hissed. "No . . . I won't . . . I won't let you use my body anymore!"

"Seto!" Mokuba leaped to his feet. "Seto, keep fighting him! I know you can beat him! You're more powerful than he could ever be!"

"Mokuba . . ." Seto shuddered, looking to his beloved brother. "I . . . I'm so sorry. . . ."

"It's not your fault, Seto," Mokuba whispered.

"How many pieces has everyone collected?" Seto asked.

"We have them all, Kaiba," Atem said. "Reshef didn't get a one."

"Then . . . give me my ring," Seto rasped, looking to Téa. "I'm going to try something while I have some semblance of control."

"What, Kaiba?!" Téa didn't like the way her stomach was starting to knot up. "Kaiba, what are you going to do?!"

"I'm going to try to force Reshef out of my body and . . . seal him in the statue," Seto said. "I don't know if it'll work, but . . . I have to try."

"Kaiba . . ." Téa's hands trembled. She still couldn't relinquish the ring. "Look what happened to Lector when he overworked himself using his ring! And he was just blasting with it! What's going to happen to you if you try some complicated spell like this?!"

"I don't know," Seto admitted. "Téa, just give me the ring! I can feel him trying to regain control! I can't let him do it!"

Tears pricked Téa's eyes, but she held it out. "Kaiba, please . . . please be careful. . . ."

"Seto . . ." Mokuba threw his arms around Seto's waist. "Seto, you've gotta pull through! You've gotta be okay from this!"

Seto hugged Mokuba close. "You know I'll do my best, little brother."

Atem grimly held out the statue pieces. Seto took them and began to desperately concentrate.

Téa walked over to Atem. "This isn't right!" she cried. "Atem, Yami Bakura, isn't there anything you can do?! Can't you help him get Reshef out?!"

"I don't know, Téa," Atem replied. "It may be something only he, as Reshef's victim, can do. But we'll try." The Infinity Puzzle started to glow.

Yami Bakura looked skeptical at best, but the Infinity Ring began to glow as well.

Gansley looked to the other conscious members of the Big Five. They exchanged a nod and their rings began to glow. So too did Lector's. The glow from his was faint due to all the energy he had used up, but it was there to show his heart was in this.

"Seto . . ." Mokuba bit his lip, shaking as he stared at Seto. Trying to both fight off Reshef and force him into the statue pieces was draining Seto's energy far faster than Lector's usage of his ring had done to him. His eyes were filled with pain and perspiration was dripping down his face. He looked completely flushed, but that was swiftly fading to a much-too-pale cast.

Marik stepped behind Mokuba and held him close. Blinking back tears, Mokuba reached to clutch at his dear friend's arms.

Téa clasped her hands in a desperate prayer. _Oh God, please help him!_

Reshef gave a roar of outrage as he finally tore free of Seto's body. Against his will, his spirit swooped down into the statue piece of the head. A faint glow emanated from it several times while he struggled, but then it stopped. It was over; he was trapped.

The light faded from Seto's ring. It had also gone out of his eyes. The pieces clattered to the floor as he lost his hold on them, and with a sickening crash, he also hit the floor.

Téa screamed.

Mokuba tore away from Marik and ran over. "Seto! Seto, you've gotta be like Lector and still be okay! You said you wouldn't leave me, big brother! You said . . . you said . . ." He fell to his knees, his hand shaking as he pressed two fingers against Seto's throat. The look in his eyes said it all.

Atem ran over too, performing his own search for a pulse.

"Well?!" Joey demanded.

Atem looked up, haunted. "To do what he just did . . . drained every bit of his life energy. There's no going back from that."

Téa just stood, shaking, staring down at him. "You mean . . . ?"

Atem gave a grim nod. "Seto Kaiba is dead."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Gansley grimly watched as Joey and Tristan lifted Seto's body to carry him down the hall. Both looked badly shaken, perhaps especially Joey, in spite of his infamously tumultuous relationship with Seto. Most of the rest of the group started to follow, shaken at the very least and deeply hurting in some cases.

In spite of Mokuba's agony, he looked back at the Big Five. "Gansley . . . you're _sure_ Lector will be okay?!" he pleaded. He couldn't lose anyone else too. . . . Seto was his world, but loved ones such as Marik and Lector were stars in his sky.

Gansley looked back to Lector. Crump was gently lifting him up and positioning him so his head was resting on Crump's lap. "I certainly hope so," he said. Lector was still alive, which was more than could be sadly said for Seto. But he had badly drained himself.

Mokuba nodded. "Please let me know when he wakes up," he said softly before taking Seto's limp hand and walking down the hall with the procession. They disappeared into Seto's room.

A movement from Jinzo caught Gansley's attention out of the corner of his eye. All of the Big Five's Duel Monsters were standing around and looking down at Lector in concern. Jinzo knelt on one knee to examine his master more closely.

Gansley looked back to Lector and gently touched his forehead. "I'll go find a damp cloth," he said. "Perhaps the cool water will help bring him around."

Lector stirred at the touch and his eyes flickered. "Father . . . ?" he rasped, reaching out for Gansley.

Gansley started. Not sure how to even respond, he finally just took Lector's hand between his and held it. Lector smiled, but couldn't hold on to consciousness. He fell limp again, desperately clutching Gansley's hand.

"Did he know it was you?" Crump wondered.

"I . . . don't know," Gansley said. He had thought Lector was hallucinating, remembering when his father actually cared about him.

"I think all of us kind of feel like you're Team Dad, even though some of us aren't that much younger than you," Crump said. "For Lector, that probably means more than ever now."

Gansley considered that and slowly nodded. "Well, we can't leave him on the floor like this," he said.

"We'll get him into one of the guest bedrooms," Nesbitt finally spoke up.

"Good." Gansley carefully took Lector's hand and laid it on his chest. "I won't be gone long."

xxxx

Outside, Solomon's group was still grimly watching over Pegasus and Siegfried. When they started to wake up shortly after the violent earthquake, the others looked at them in surprise and concern.

"Are you both alright?" Solomon asked.

". . . I have a dreadful headache," Siegfried muttered. "What happened? The last thing I remember was handing Yugi my statue piece."

"Yeah, then Reshef took you over again and you tackled Yugi down the stairs!" Rebecca cried indignantly.

"Now, Rebecca, it wasn't Mr. von Schroeder's fault," Professor Hawkins said.

"Reshef. . . ." Pegasus slowly sat up. He seemed back to normal as well; Reshef had apparently decided to release both of them and focus solely on Seto.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out for you," Solomon said to Pegasus. "I know Reshef promised you Cecelia if you helped him."

"I was a fool," Pegasus said bitterly. "But I've seen and heard about other loved ones being restored, and I always wonder why I can't have Cecelia. Surely she wants to come back to me. That one time I saw her . . ." He trailed off.

"I lost my wife too," Solomon said quietly. "I suppose in their cases, it was their time to go. I know that's hardly a comfort, but it may be an explanation."

"Explanation!" Pegasus snorted. "Cecelia was so young! How could her death have been the way things were supposed to be?!"

"Sometimes people are too good for this world," Professor Hawkins said, sadness entering his own voice. "My wife, my daughter, and my son-in-law are all gone."

Rebecca looked away. She didn't like hearing about their deaths.

Solomon's phone dinged and he took it out to look at the incoming message. "Oh no," he gasped. "Speaking of deaths . . . Yugi says Seto Kaiba is dead."

That stunned everyone present.

"Kaiba-Boy," Pegasus whispered.

"Leonhard. . . ." Siegfried took out his phone and quickly began texting his brother, perhaps assuming Mokuba had already told him, perhaps just wanting to make sure he was safe. Or both.

"How did it happen?" Dr. Brisbane wondered.

"Yugi was very brief, but he said Kaiba died sealing Reshef away," Solomon said. "That poor boy. And his brother . . . !" He hated to think of how heartbroken and agonized Mokuba was.

Rebecca looked to the house. "Yugi must be sad too," she said. "He always tried to reach out to Kaiba as a friend. . . ."

"We should all go in," Professor Hawkins said. He started to get out of the car.

Everyone swiftly followed.

xxxx

At the bikers' house, Alister also received a text message.

"Croquet, Yugi's grandfather says that Pegasus is alright," he reported. Not knowing what to do, they had taken Croquet home with them to rest and recover on their couch.

Croquet perked up. "Thank goodness. So Reshef has left him then?"

"Yeah. Apparently he wanted to focus on Kaiba . . ." Alister kept scrolling and his eyes soon narrowed. ". . . And Kaiba died sealing Reshef away."

Liu meowed, nuzzling Alister's side.

". . . I see," Croquet said.

"Kaiba's really kicked it, eh?" Valon said from behind Alister.

"How do you feel about that?" Raphael asked.

Alister leaned back. ". . . I don't know," he realized. He didn't hate Seto anymore, but he still didn't like Seto's business practices. On the other hand, he knew Mokuba would be devastated.

"I guess the kid's takin' it pretty hard," Valon said.

Alister nodded. "I also know what it's like to lose a brother. I should go to him." He started to stand.

"I need to get back to Master Pegasus," Croquet said. He started to ease himself off the couch.

"We'll all go," Raphael determined. "We'll take the car."

Guardian Eatos got up, walking with them to the door. Liu meowed, following them.

"Hey, Raph . . ." Valon looked back at the cat.

Raphael turned to look. Gruffly smiling, he picked up the Ragdoll cat and petted her. "We won't be gone long," he told her.

Liu purred.

xxxx

By the time Lumis had the strength to come out of the bathroom, Umbra was laying on the couch, his eyes closed. That only made Lumis panic all over again. He rushed over in terror, at the same time exclaiming, "Is he . . . ?!"

Umbra's eyes immediately opened. "Lumis, I'm alright. I'm just resting. If anything had happened to me, someone would have told you."

Lumis sank to his knees. "Oh, thank goodness."

"I really don't think I've been poisoned," Umbra said. "The danger is in worrying about the blood loss, but hopefully Rishid's bandaging will keep me from losing dangerous amounts until we can get out of here."

Lumis shakily nodded. ". . . Everyone else went to find Kaiba?"

"Yes," Ishizu spoke up. "Rishid and I stayed here."

"You'd really look out for us?" Lumis was further stunned. "But . . . Marik might need you. . . ."

"Marik would want someone to make sure the two of you were safe," Ishizu said.

Rishid's phone dinged as a text came through. He held it up, but reading the contents left him sickened. "Oh no. . . ."

"What is it?!" Lumis gasped.

Rishid looked to Ishizu. "Kaiba is dead."

Ishizu gasped too. "How?!"

"He sacrificed himself to remove Reshef from his body and seal him in the statue," Rishid read. "It was just too draining on him."

"Rishid. . . ." Ishizu was sickened now as well. "Mokuba will need us. We need to go to him. . . ."

Rishid nodded. "And we need to get Umbra to the medical center." He stood. "We'll do both."

Umbra grimaced but pushed himself upright. "Kaiba is dead," he muttered. "I never thought I'd see that happen."

"At least he's made it safe for us again," Lumis said.

"I didn't even know he was that self-sacrificing," Umbra said.

"It was probably mostly for his brother," Lumis said.

"It was for all of us," Ishizu said quietly. "Seto Kaiba didn't want Reshef to take over for any of our sakes."

"I'm sure he wasn't thinking about us, but at least we can benefit as well," Lumis said.

He watched anxiously as Umbra forced himself to stand. "Can I help you, Umbra?!" he asked, reaching up in the hopes of steadying his friend.

"I think I've got it," Umbra said.

To someone just passing by, it would probably look almost laughable to see a tall man like Umbra walking alongside a little man who only came up to his waist, with the little man trying to keep an arm around Umbra's waist to prevent him from falling. But Ishizu was touched by the caring, and she smiled a bit in spite of her sorrow as she headed for the doors.

xxxx

Lector wasn't sure what had happened when he began regaining consciousness. He remembered a great deal of pain, and panic, and increasing exhaustion, and it seemed as though they were all connected. He groaned, raising a hand to his head. "What . . ."

At the foot of the bed, Jinzo perked up to see Lector coming to. Lector focused on him for a moment, still awed and amazed by his presence.

"Are you okay, Buddy?!"

Crump. . . . And his voice seemed to be coming from above Lector. He squinted, looking up at his friend. He was laying on a bed with Crump bending over him.

"I . . . think so," Lector mumbled. "What happened, though? It all feels like a blur. . . ."

"We're not sure what happened," Crump said. "You just flipped and kept blasting everything that was getting close to attacking us. It was like . . . like you felt that the responsibility for keeping us safe was all on you alone."

"Oh. . . ." Lector groaned.

Suddenly Nesbitt was up in his face. "Lector?! What did you think you were doing?!" he boomed. "You always preach against acting like that, and there you go and do it yourself! Do you have any idea what could have happened?!" He grabbed a handful of Lector's suitcoat, shirt, and tie all at once.

"Hey, hey, easy," Crump exclaimed.

Nesbitt ignored him. _"Do you?!"_

"No, I don't know what you're getting at, Nesbitt," Lector frowned. "But it's starting to come back to me now. Yes, I felt like I had to do anything I could to protect the rest of you!" He sat up straight. "I'm sick to death of watching all of you suffer!"

That was the wrong choice of words. "You really could have been dead!" Nesbitt screamed. "You overloaded your ring and used up so much of your energy powering it up that you swooned! And you could have ended up like Kaiba! He forced his ring to do some complex spell to get Reshef out of his body and sealed in the statue, and it _killed _him!"

Lector's tan skin suddenly went very pale. "What?!"

"That's right, Kaiba's dead," Nesbitt snarled. "And it could have been you. Did you ever once stop to think about how we would have felt if you had dropped dead on us?! Or were you so caught up in selfishly trying to ease your own pain that you didn't care about maxing yourself out?!"

Lector rocked back, just staring at him.

"Nesbitt, stop." Gansley's commanding voice suddenly entered the conversation. Their leader suddenly appeared in the doorway, a damp cloth in one hand. Johnson trailed after him.

Nesbitt growled and looked away.

"Nesbitt, don't you know how hard Lector has tried to hold back his pain for us?" Johnson said.

"That's the root of this entire problem," Gansley said. "And Lector said how worried you were that he might snap. Surely you realize that was exactly what he did. You know very well that the last thing Lector was trying to be was selfish."

"I . . . yes, I know." Nesbitt's shoulders dropped and he gripped the quilt in front of him. "I've never seen Lector like that. It . . . it terrified me." His voice cracked. "Yes, I was afraid of him snapping, and then he did and I was helpless. And now I . . . I let that terror and vulnerability come out as anger again." He slammed his palm into the frame of the bed. "I never want to hurt you, Lector, but I always do." He started to get up. "You'd be better off if I left."

"What?!" Lector stumbled off the bed and to his feet. "Nesbitt, I was fighting so hard to protect all of my dear friends, including you! The last thing I want is for you to leave!" He clenched a fist. "Maybe you've got a point; maybe I was being selfish. I should have stopped when Gansley and you and everyone kept trying to get me to stop. I . . . I was so afraid of losing one or more of you that I just ignored when Gansley said I might be the one getting hurt this time. But I know one has to take care of themselves or that will hurt their loved ones as well. That's why I get so bent out of shape with you, Nesbitt, because you're so reckless and getting yourself in trouble and I'm afraid you're going to hurt yourself. And then I go and do the same thing. I'm still a hypocrite."

"For that matter, Nesbitt is also a hypocrite to be yelling at you for the same offense he has committed so many times," Johnson pointed out.

"And in both your cases, you just want so badly to protect the people you care about that you disregard your own safety even when you don't have to," Gansley said. "Nesbitt, you unfortunately do that much more frequently than Lector. But Lector, you reached your breaking point and apparently that's what can happen when you do—you start behaving like Nesbitt."

"But I still never should have said what I did," Nesbitt said, shaking his head. "Lector, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Lector said quietly. "I hurt you, all of you, so badly because I was hurting very desperately. And that's why you hurt me now, Nesbitt."

Nesbitt gave a forlorn nod.

"Just promise you'll never do it again," Crump said.

"Only I can't, because losing control isn't something one does consciously," Lector said. "I can only promise to try my best not to reach that point again." He shook his head. "And if I have to keep watching all of you getting hurt—and I'll admit, getting hurt myself—it could happen again."

Gansley hugged him close. "We've all endured far more than anyone should have to take in a lifetime," he said. "It would be concerning if we didn't crack under the strain. The fact that we do proves we're all still human."

"I guess," Nesbitt grunted.

"And what's this about Kaiba being dead?!" Lector demanded as he returned Gansley's hug.

"It happened like Nesbitt said," Gansley said grimly. "They took his body into his bedroom. I don't know what they're doing right now."

Lector looked to the door. "I should go to Mokuba. I can imagine some of what he's feeling right now, although of course grief is different for each person. But he must be devastated."

"To say the least," Gansley said. "And Téa is quite devastated as well."

Lector nodded and took a step in that direction. The motion was jarring and he swayed, falling back against Gansley.

"It will probably be some time before you fully have your strength back," Gansley said. He steadied Lector and kept a firm arm around him. "We'll walk with you."

The other members of the Big Five and all their Duel Monsters gathered around as well, ready to offer their support.

"Thank you, my friends," Lector said.

"And if you feel too dizzy to keep going, for Heaven's sake, tell us!" Johnson exclaimed.

"I will," Lector promised.

xxxx

The scene in the bedroom was heartwrenching. Mokuba had curled up next to Seto on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Marik was bending over him, gripping his shoulder but having no words of comfort to give. Most of the group was standing around uncomfortably, unable to believe this was really happening. Seto had always seemed indestructible. But he wasn't.

"Can you believe this?" Tristan said to Joey. "I never really thought things would turn out this way."

Joey punched the wall. "That Kaiba! Always going off and insisting on doing his own thing his way! Maybe we could've come up with some other solution if he would have just waited!"

"There wasn't time, Joey," Bakura said softly. "Kaiba had to act immediately because Reshef was trying to take control again. And . . . he couldn't let that happen."

Joey growled. "Don't try to confuse me with logic, Bakura! Then I'll have to stop being mad at Kaiba and . . ." He trailed off, wavering. "Oh man, Kaiba's dead." His voice cracked and he turned away, facing the wall.

Tristan looked down. Joey would never admit it, but he was among the most deeply affected by this outcome. Tristan was sure he heard Joey sniffling.

Téa was sitting across the room in a chair, sheet-white and crying as well. Yugi and Atem were at her side but also didn't know what to say or do.

"I was afraid something horrible would happen," she choked out, "and yet part of me didn't really think it actually would! I thought we'd all be able to come through it, like always!"

"Téa . . ." Yugi bit his lip and laid his hand on hers. It really didn't seem like there were any words suiting to this kind of situation.

"I hated Kaiba at first," Téa continued. "But now, after everything, I . . . I don't know how I'm going to stand it without him! He's become one of us after so long. It's not right for him to be gone. . . ."

"Oh Téa. . . ." Atem drew an arm around her and held her close. He didn't know what to say either.

Téa reeled. For so long she had wanted Atem to hold her like this, but now that he was, the situation was too horrible to even be able to enjoy it.

"What is there to do?" Tristan said. "He's gone."

Téa looked to Seto's lifeless body on the bed, and at Mokuba still despondently crying and hugging him.

The rocking in her stomach hardened to resolve. Her eyes narrowed.

"We're not going to stand it without him!" she declared, getting up from the chair. "I'm going to get him back."

Atem's jaw dropped. "Téa, what . . . ?! You can't! There's no way to bring back the dead except in special circumstances!"

Téa marched over to the bed and sank down on the edge of it, taking Seto's limp hand. "Atem, we've seen all through this nightmare that love mixed with magic can break Reshef's power," she said.

"Yes, but the affected person has to still possess some amount of life energy for anything to work," Atem protested.

"Well, what if Mokuba and I give him some of ours?" Téa returned.

Mokuba jerked and looked up. "What?!"

"What if we give him just enough of our life energies to jumpstart his heart again?" Téa said. "It might work!"

"It's foolhardy," Yami Bakura growled.

"It really does sound dangerous," Marik said.

"If there's any chance of saving Seto, we have to try!" Mokuba cried. "Please!" He looked to Atem in desperation.

Atem looked to Yugi, who smiled and nodded. "Go for it, Atem."

Finally Atem nodded too. "Alright, I'll try to help you try it," he said to Téa and Mokuba, "but it is very risky. I've never done anything like that before. You could both be hurt! And Kaiba would never forgive any of us if he was revived at the expense of Mokuba's life."

"We're gonna be fine," Mokuba insisted. He took Seto's other hand. "We're not gonna die."

Téa nodded. "Just enough to restart his heart," she repeated. _Please, God, let this work,_ she prayed._ We can't lose him!_

Atem sighed. "Very well." He closed his eyes and concentrated hard with the Infinity Puzzle.

This was the scene the Big Five and Solomon's and Rishid's groups found as they all arrived in the doorway. "What's going on?!" Lector gasped.

"Some kind of bizarre experiment in trying to revive Kaiba," Joey told him.

"What the heck?!" Lumis exclaimed.

"Quiet," Yami Bakura growled.

For a while nothing seemed to happen. But then Mokuba and Téa each began to glow with a warm light. The beams intertwined and then transferred to Seto. He gave a jerk, and each hand slowly curled around that of the person's holding it.

"Seto?!" Mokuba cried.

"Kaiba?!" Téa leaned over. "Oh Kaiba, please, open your eyes!" This had to have worked. It couldn't just be a bodily reflex without the spirit present! He had to be back. . . .

Finally Seto's eyes began to open. "Téa?" he mumbled in disbelief.

"Seto!" Mokuba dived in, clutching Seto close. "Oh Seto, you're alive! You're really alive!"

Seto drew an arm around him. "Alive," he repeated. It seemed unreal.

Téa couldn't speak. She stared at the one she thought she had lost, just smiling for a long moment. Then, coming back to herself, she started to release his hand. He would surely want her to. . . .

To her shock, he gripped it. He didn't speak, but the gesture was clear enough.

"Kaiba," she whispered, and held his hand close.

"So . . . what just happened here?!" Joey exclaimed.

Yugi smiled. "A miracle, Joey."

"Yeah, but . . . Téa . . . ! Kaiba . . . !" Joey stared at them.

"If it hadn't been for Téa's idea, I never would have thought to try this," Atem said. "True love is incredible in its scope and power. Reshef can't destroy that, no matter how hard he tries."

"I don't suppose this means that something like this could be done to revive anyone," Tristan remarked.

"No, I don't think so," Yugi said, "just like medical resuscitation doesn't always work. I imagine certain conditions have to be met, similar to what Shadi told us about how his Infinity Ankh works. It can't be the victim's time to go. We're just lucky it wasn't Kaiba's time."

"And . . . the true love?" Joey still looked weirded out.

"There are many kinds of true love, Joey, as you should know," Yugi said. "Mokuba's true love for Seto is familial. Téa's friendship true love could save any of us, and has in the past. It was also friendship true love that restored Lumis and Gansley to full health. Maybe a little familial too; their friends love them like family. As for what kind of true love Téa has for Kaiba, well . . . we'll have to wait and see."

They all looked back to the boy Téa's and Mokuba's love had revived. Seto still seemed confused, and definitely weakened; Atem had stopped drawing their energy once Seto had responded, not wanting to drain so much that one or both of them would fall ill. But he had been given a precious chance, and Atem was certain that he would be able to take it and rally.

Nothing ever kept Seto Kaiba down for long.

"We're all okay," Yugi whispered in joyous relief. "Just as it should be."

Nesbitt drew an arm around Lector's shoulders and gruffly hugged him close. Just as it should be indeed.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Seto sank into the soft pillows on the bed. He was still trying to figure out exactly what had happened. He remembered using up all his strength to seal Reshef, and collapsing to the floor, but then everything was a blank until he had awakened with Mokuba and Téa with him. Judging from what Mokuba had said, they had thought he was dead.

Could he have been? He hadn't asked anyone for details because he wasn't sure he wanted to hear them. If he had been dead, he had apparently blocked those memories and he would be content to keep them blocked.

He wished he could block this entire nightmare. He didn't want to remember Reshef, and fighting for control of his body and his sanity, and having to use magic.

But . . . good things had happened too. He had spent a lot of time with Téa and it had actually been nice. It was enjoyable having friends, no matter how he had once scoffed at it or insisted he didn't need it. His life was far fuller and richer than it had ever been in the past. He was finally getting past the abuse Gozaburo had heaped on him, including the distrust of everyone other than Mokuba that Gozaburo had drilled into him. And now that he was, he never wanted to go back to how it had been before.

He looked to Mokuba, who was peacefully dozing at his side. Mokuba had no doubt been exhausted by everything happening, and if he had believed Seto had been dead, Seto couldn't stand to think of how Mokuba would have taken it.

The room had been overcrowded when he had first woke up, but everyone but Mokuba had cleared out by now in order to allow Seto to sleep. Seto wasn't really sure he would, though. It had been such a bizarre last few days and his mind was filled with all manner of thoughts and topics relating to what had been happening.

Was it really over? Atem had mentioned something about Reshef being sealed, thanks to Seto, but would it last? What if Reshef could break free someday? Seto wished the statue pieces could be removed entirely from their jurisdiction. Shadi still hadn't come for the other artifacts they were keeping for him, and now that the statue pieces were included in that, it was nerve-wracking. Seto didn't want to run any risk of Reshef escaping ever again.

Mokuba jumped a mile, startling Seto back to the present. The child looked up, eyes wide and fearful, but then focused on Seto and his expression changed to awe. "Seto . . . are you really here?" he quavered.

Seto hated to hear that plaintive, heartbreaking tone to Mokuba's voice. "I'm really here," he promised.

Mokuba hugged him close. "I dreamed that we couldn't get you back. It was awful. . . ."

Seto firmly embraced his brother. "Well, I am back. Everything's alright," he soothed.

"Until the next disaster comes along," Mokuba bitterly said. "Oh Seto, there's probably always going to be something else, and we can't always come out of things okay. . . ."

"I know," Seto said in resignation. "But I don't want to spend my life worrying about what's going to happen in the future. We both have to keep living our lives as best we can, in spite of what might happen."

"Yeah. . . . But the more stuff happens, the harder it is to feel that way," Mokuba said.

Seto couldn't counter that.

". . . Is everything back to normal?" he wondered.

"Well, the good Duel Monsters haven't left yet," Mokuba said. "But other than that, yeah, I think everything's okay. . . . Oh, Umbra's being treated at our medical center. . . ."

"What," Seto grunted.

"Well, he _did_ save Serenity," Mokuba said. "And we figured KaibaCorp doctors would be more willing to keep quiet about treating Duel Monster wounds. . . ."

"Probably," Seto said in resignation. ". . . Are he and Lumis going to be Yugi's next little rehabilitation project?"

"Maybe," Mokuba said. "Actually, I think Mr. Muto's kind of taking charge of that. . . . But . . ." He shifted. "He asked me if you might be willing to pull a few strings for them if they agreed to turn state's evidence against the Rare Hunters."

"Ugh. I should have known. Are they willing to rat on the Rare Hunters?" Seto held a hand to his forehead.

"We're not sure yet," Mokuba said. "But sealing Reshef away did wake up his other victims, including Bandit Keith. The police were right there to arrest him."

"Good," Seto grunted. "But do Lumis and Umbra know? That could change some of their plans."

"They know," Mokuba said. "They wanted to see him at the police station. I guess whatever happens there might decide what they do next."

Seto wasn't sure he liked the sound of that, and yet he could see the logic of letting them see their past to judge their future loyalty. If they couldn't renounce Bandit Keith from interacting with him again, they probably weren't trustworthy.

"What about Yugi and the others?" he wondered. "Are they still here?"

"Some of them are," Mokuba said. "Yugi, Atem, Téa, Tristan, and Joey are downstairs in the kitchen. Lector found Velma and the rest of the servants hiding in the panic room in their quarters, and now Velma's making a late dinner for anyone who wants it. Oh . . . I'm not sure if you remember, but the Big Five are still here too. . . . Lector still isn't feeling well, so you said he could lie down in one of the guest-rooms. . . ."

"Fine," Seto said. How strange that it actually was fine, although he imagined Lector felt very awkward to still be there.

". . . What about Pegasus and von Schroeder?" he asked then.

"Well . . ." Mokuba hesitated. "I think Pegasus was kind of hurting about you being allowed back when he can't have Cecelia. He just kind of slipped out. The bikers came to check on me and brought Croquet, so he left with Pegasus. Siegfried, well, he said he'd left Leon at a hotel in town and was going to go there."

"They'd better be free of Reshef's influence," Seto frowned. "Pegasus, at least, must have been himself when Reshef approached him."

"I'm pretty sure they're normal now," Mokuba said. "Do you feel like eating anything, big brother?"

"Maybe in a little bit." Seto sighed and closed his eyes.

Mokuba watched him in moved awe before laying back down next to him. He rested an arm around Seto as he started to doze again.

xxxx

Having his energy drained hadn't improved Bandit Keith's demeanor any. Instead of just being grateful to be awake, he was raging that falling into a coma had happened at all. And of course, he was furious to be arrested. Seeing Lumis and Umbra didn't improve his mood one bit.

"What are you two doin' here?" he snapped. "Are you still stuck too?"

Lumis flinched. "Actually, we're free to go," he said.

"We got out on bail . . . after you wouldn't help us," Umbra pointedly added.

"We just wondered if there was anything you wanted us for," Lumis said.

"Yeah, there is, actually," Keith said. "Now that you're here, I want you to get me out of this joint!"

"And what if we do?" Lumis asked. "Will you re-hire us and give us our old jobs back?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you want," Keith said. He gripped the bars of the cell. "Just get me out of here!"

Lumis frowned, and he and Umbra walked away from the cell. "What do you think we should do?" Lumis asked. "I know we were going to try to go straight, but we didn't know Bandit Keith would take us back. . . ." His eyes flickered with worry. "We don't even know if we'll really find work, or if it will work out for us. . . ." He frowned more. "And honestly, I don't want to try to go straight just because we're afraid of that Yami Bakura person and what he might do to us. What kind of life would that be?"

"You've got a point, but I also don't want to be running the rest of my life because we jumped bail," Umbra grunted.

"And you're hurt," Lumis said, pointing to Umbra's right arm. It had been placed in a sling to reduce movement and strain on his shoulder. "That's what going straight has done for us so far!"

Umbra massaged the bridge of his nose with his other hand. Lumis had a point about that, too. And it wasn't as if they could decide to try going straight now and then go back to Bandit Keith if it didn't work out. They had to decide their fate here and now.

". . . You know," he said after a moment, "going crooked got you into a coma and me hanging from a flagpole. Not that being clawed by a Duel Monster is any picnic either, but I don't especially like the thought of going back to Bandit Keith after the way he treated us, just throwing us away for one mistake after we served him faithfully for so long."

Lumis frowned. "That's a good point."

"Why don't we ask that Muto guy what he's got for us?" Umbra suggested. "Unlike Bandit Keith, he's supposed to be an honorable person. We're probably better off with him."

At last Lumis sighed and nodded. "Alright."

"Hey, what's going on over there?!" Keith snarled. "Are you getting me out or what?!"

"I don't think so," Umbra said.

"_What?!"_ Keith screamed. "Are you crazy?!"

"Well," Lumis replied, "I suppose we're going to find out." He started to walk back towards the door. Umbra swiftly followed him.

"Hey, you can't just leave me here!" Keith roared.

"Like you did to us?" Umbra smoothly said. He opened the door for Lumis and then walked out himself, ignoring Keith's continual yelling.

Solomon was standing near the desk with folded arms. He smiled, pleased to see Lumis and Umbra emerging from the room while Bandit Keith screamed at them.

"Well, Duke?" he said to the boy standing next to him. "Are you willing to give them a chance?"

Duke gave a heavy sigh. "Between Umbra saving Serenity and this, how can I say No?"

"What's going on?" Lumis blinked.

"The job I was thinking you might like to take is working at a card shop," Solomon said. "I don't need help at my little store, but Duke's game store is so large that I was sure he could find a use for you. I just talked to him and he's willing to see how it goes, provided we can convince the district attorney not to have you both arrested if you testify against the Rare Hunters."

Duke nodded. "I owe you a lot for saving Serenity. And you decided all on your own to reject Bandit Keith, so that's encouraging."

"We'll be working for you?" Lumis said in surprise.

"Doing what?" Umbra wondered.

Duke pushed away from the desk. "Probably a little of everything—helping customers find products they're looking for, stocking the shelves . . . oh, and dueling sometimes."

"Dueling?!" Lumis echoed.

Duke nodded. "I have several dueling arenas in the building and sometimes the customers come wanting to duel professional Duelists. David and I are usually the closest things they've got to it, but I'm sure the two of you could spice things up for them."

Lumis and Umbra exchanged a stunned look. "You'd really trust us to duel your customers?" Lumis exclaimed.

"After tonight, I'm willing to try it," Duke said. "Of course, it goes without saying: no taking cards from anyone you defeat, unless they want to duel for your rarest cards and suggest it themselves."

"We can do that," Umbra said.

Lumis nodded. He still wasn't sure this would work out; being employees in a store seemed many steps down from their important positions in the Rare Hunters. But he had to admit he liked the idea of still being around cards. "We won't let you down," he said.

"You'd better not," Duke replied, flipping his hair.

xxxx

Gansley sighed, leaning back in the chair as he observed Lector lightly dozing. Getting up to check on the Kaibas had overexerted him and he had admitted to needing to rest, so they had come back to the guest room for a while.

"You think he's really gonna be okay?" Crump worried.

"I think so," Gansley said. "And hopefully in the future there won't be any more incidents of him snapping like this."

"If we keep getting hurt, it might be more than him alone snapping," Crump said. "It really is a lot to take."

"I know," Gansley sighed.

"And I was more sadistic than any of the rest of you guys in the past," Crump said. "I wanted to freeze Téa instead of at least letting her roam all through the virtual world. How'd I ever get that hateful? Especially with some poor kid who didn't really deserve it?"

"All of us treated those kids quite poorly," Gansley said. "I certainly wish I could take back some of my behavior."

Crump frowned. "And I hardly ever get hurt, except for the time I got stuck in the freezer with Kaiba. That was just desserts on me, but I'm getting sick of always seeing my buddies getting hurt."

"So am I," Gansley growled.

He glanced over at Jinzo. The Duel Monster was silently sitting in another chair, arms folded, never looking away from his master. Nearby, Deepsea Warrior stood tall, waiting for any command from Gansley. Nightmare Penguin was standing by Crump's chair, and every now and then Crump absently patted him.

"It's crazy, really having our favorite Duel Monsters here," Crump remarked. "A good kind of crazy, though."

Gansley nodded. "They all seem to really care about us."

"Did you call your son and let him know everything's okay?" Crump wondered.

"Yes, I did," Gansley said. "He and the children are alright too. The police want to talk to him about the Rare Hunters now that most of them have been rounded up."

"Oh good." Crump leaned back.

"So do you know where Nesbitt and Johnson wandered off to?" Gansley asked.

"I'm not sure," Crump realized. "Maybe Nesbitt was still feeling upset about how he treated Lector and Johnson was talking to him."

Gansley sighed and shook his head. "Those two. . . . They love each other so much and yet they always have trouble getting along."

"Yeah, kinda weird, huh?" Crump said.

"Oh, I don't know. Some relationships are like that, when people are too different . . . or too much the same." Gansley rested against the chair. "And in our case, we've all had trouble getting along at times."

"I know, but Lector and Nesbitt really turn it into an art," Crump snorted.

"And yet you'll never find friends who care about each other more," Gansley said.

"True. That's pretty sweet," Crump mused.

Gansley smiled and looked to where Lector was still resting—perhaps asleep, perhaps awake and listening to them. "It is."

xxxx

Nesbitt and Johnson had wandered downstairs to the kitchen, where Yugi and some of the others were still eating. Robotic Knight and Judge Man wandered in with them.

"Oh hi," Yugi greeted them. "Do you want something to eat?"

"I most certainly do," Johnson exclaimed. "And I'm sure the others are all starving as well." He made a beeline for the counter and started dishing up a plate.

"How's Lector?" Yugi asked.

"Resting again," Nesbitt said gruffly. "He pushed himself too far." He followed Johnson's lead and started making up a plate of food. Robotic Knight, of course, had no need for food, but Judge Man growled and got into line behind Nesbitt.

"Poor guy," Téa said.

"How are you two doing?" Yugi asked. "And Gansley and Crump? I know things have been hard on all of you. . . ."

Johnson sat down at the other side of the island in the middle of the large kitchen. "I'm alright," he said. "I don't know about the others. . . ." He shot a questioning glance to Nesbitt as he sat down too.

Nesbitt just shrugged. "I'm not the one who snapped and started blasting every enemy in sight."

"It must have been awful seeing Lector do that and knowing he was wearing himself out," Téa said softly.

"Well, that goes without saying, doesn't it?" Nesbitt growled.

"Hey, Téa's just trying to be sympathetic," Joey growled back.

Nesbitt sighed and wearily passed a hand over his eyes. "I know. I'm sorry."

"It's totally okay if you don't want to talk about it," Téa said. "I'm sure you talk about it with the others to get it off your chest."

"Something like that," Nesbitt said.

Judge Man settled down at the edge of the counter to eat. Kuriboh was nearby, gobbling away. It was rare to see his mouth under all that fur, but it was very visible now. He had only rarely enjoyed such a feast.

"I have to admit I'm curious," Atem said to Nesbitt. "If you always got along so poorly with Lector, how did you end up growing close to him in spite of it?"

"I ask myself that question sometimes," Nesbitt said. "I don't even know. I always hated having him for my boss because I didn't agree with a lot of his ideas and raged whenever he scolded me for something reckless I was doing. But one day I saw him having trouble with a disagreeable employee who finally called him some filthy name because he's of mixed-race heritage. I hauled off and punched the man, shocking Lector as well as myself. I never got involved like that before; I just let the people deal with their own problems while I stuck to my machines. But when it came to Lector being attacked, I saw red."

"I see," Atem smiled. "Well, it sounds like in spite of what you thought your feelings were, you were growing close to Lector anyway."

"Yeah, I guess," Nesbitt grunted. "It never made sense to either of us, but once Lector knew I liked him he did soften the way he interacted with me . . . even though he still disagreed with me most of the time." He shrugged. "I don't know. . . . Maybe it was more that I respected how he'd gotten to his position of power without cheating or using people. Most of the people I'd encountered were willing to do anything to get ahead. Lector was an honorable man, something I thought was probably a thing of the past. Of course, after all this time there's a lot more there than just respect."

"Respect is one of the building blocks of any true relationship," Atem said.

"So you think Kaiba respects us?" Tristan snarked.

"Actually, yes, I do," Atem said.

"So do I, guys," Yugi said. "We've all come through a lot together."

Téa looked far away. "We sure have." She started to get up from the table. "I think I'll check on him. Be back in a few minutes!"

The others stared after her.

"It's weird to see Téa so worried about Kaiba," Joey remarked.

"Like you're not?" Tristan countered.

"That's weird too," Joey shot back.

Yugi chuckled and smiled. "It's a nice weird, though," he said.

No one could deny that.

xxxx

Téa quietly ventured upstairs and to Seto's bedroom door. It had been left ajar, just in case any help was needed, but everyone hoped he just needed rest now. She peeked in, trying to be as quiet as possible. He looked asleep, as did Mokuba snuggled next to him.

For a moment she just stood there and watched them. Seto was really breathing. . . . It still seemed so incredible, like a dream that she might wake up from and find wasn't real. But it was very much real, and she had played a part in making sure there was a joyous outcome. That seemed even more incredible.

Seto stirred, looking over at her. "I'm not asleep."

She jumped. "Oh . . . I thought . . ."

"I could feel you watching me," Seto grunted. He hesitated. "I still don't really know what happened. I don't know if I _want_ to know. But you were there with Mokuba when I woke up, so you must have had some part in it. Thank you."

Téa walked in farther. "That's what friends do," she said softly, not wanting to wake Mokuba. "I couldn't stand the thought of letting you go, Kaiba. When I got an idea for how to possibly save you, I had to try it."

"I'm grateful," Seto said. "Mokuba never could have stood it without me. And I didn't want to die; I just didn't know what else to do to try to get rid of Reshef."

"I know." Téa hesitated. There was something she wanted to ask, but part of her wondered if she dared.

"What," Seto grunted. He could always tell when someone was holding back.

"When you woke up, I . . . well, you seemed to want me to stay," Téa said. "I didn't think you would. . . ."

Seto looked away. Was he actually . . . going red?

"Does it need further explanation?" he grunted at last.

"No, I guess not," Téa said slowly. "I guess maybe I just wondered if you were awake enough that you really knew what you were doing. . . ."

"I knew," Seto replied.

"Oh. Well . . ." Téa smiled. "I'm really glad I mean that much to you, Kaiba. . . ."

"It surprises me that it's the truth, but it is," Seto said gruffly. "All of the group has come to mean a lot to me."

"That's awesome," Téa said. "You mean a lot to all of us too."

"And that also surprises me," Seto deadpanned. "But . . . I like it."

"I'm glad," Téa said. "Everyone should have a lot of loved ones."

"Mokuba was always all I needed," Seto said. "I thought. But now that I have all the rest of you too, I don't want to lose any of you."

"You won't," Téa promised. "Ever."

"We lost our parents," Seto said, indicating himself and Mokuba. "Death happens. It doesn't always get fixed."

"I know," Téa said. "But at least this time it did."

Seto hugged Mokuba close and slowly nodded.

xxxx

Lector stirred, slowly waking up again. It wasn't really a surprise to see two of his dearest friends watching over him and perking up to see him waking up, but he was touched all the same.

"Are you feeling any better?" Gansley asked.

"Some, I think," Lector said. He cringed a bit. "But is Mr. Kaiba really alright with my staying here?"

"He said he was," Crump said. "Remember?"

"Yes. . . . Vaguely. . . ." Lector turned to look at Jinzo. It was hard to tell what the android was thinking, and yet from his body language, he definitely seemed to be cheering up to see his master recovering.

"If you're feeling well enough, maybe we should all leave," Gansley said.

"I think so." Lector started to sit up. "Will you be coming with us?" he asked Jinzo.

Jinzo didn't know. A portal still needed to be made connecting the worlds again, although he would be alright with staying on for a while.

"Hey, as long as there's no way for them to get back to their dimension, it makes sense enough for them to come with us," Crump said. He wasn't really ready to say Goodbye to Nightmare Penguin yet.

"I wondered if a way had been opened while I was out of it," Lector said.

"I don't think so," Gansley said.

Lector started to get off the bed. "Where are Nesbitt and Johnson?"

"Dunno," Crump said. "But I'm sure they're still here."

"We are," Nesbitt grunted as he appeared in the doorway. "We were downstairs getting dinner. There's plenty more, if anyone else wants some." Seeing Lector awake, he perked up. "Are you feeling better?!"

"Some," Lector said. "I'll probably need to take it easy for a few days."

"And you really must, or you wouldn't admit it," Johnson said.

"I _would_ like some dinner." Lector started to get off the bed. Jinzo reached to steady him, as did Gansley and Crump.

"Yeah, that sounds great to me!" Crump chirped.

Gansley was in agreement. "I'll call my son and be right down with you," he promised.

Peter was relieved to hear that everything was settling back to normal. "The kids have been really worried about you, Dad . . . and so have I."

Gansley smiled. "I'm alright."

"And I'd be more than happy to testify against the Rare Hunters," Peter went on. "That will mean I'll need to keep coming out here, though."

"And that is perfectly fine," Gansley said. "No, it's more than fine. It's the way it should be."

"Yeah." Peter sounded far-away. "Now there's family I want to be with on both sides of the country. I couldn't ask you to move to Bethlehem, when you've built a life for yourself here and you have people here you love so much. Your friends have been your family more than I have, that's for sure."

"I wouldn't want to leave," Gansley agreed. "I doubt the rest of the family would like that anyway. Especially your mother."

"Oh, I'll be sure to tell her you've changed," Peter said. "Or that you were never as bad as she thought in the first place."

"I was worse," Gansley said. "But yes, I've changed."

"I'll work something out," Peter said. "We'll definitely fly out any time I can manage it. And we could keep in touch online too. Do you Skype?"

"The other members of the Big Five and I have communicated via video chat at times if we're in different locations planning our project and need to converse," Gansley said.

"Great," Peter said. "Well, I finally got the kids to bed, but I'll tell them you called as soon as they get up."

"Do that." Gansley glanced at the clock. "And you should sleep yourself."

"Yeah, I probably should," Peter said. "And you should."

"I will, soon. Goodnight, Son."

"Goodnight, Dad."

Gansley hung up and looked to Deepsea Warrior, who had stayed back to wait for him. "Shall we go?"

The Duel Monster nodded. "Let's."

xxxx

Croquet sadly watched as Pegasus just sat on the hood of the limousine and stared out at the Domino City skyline. The wind carefully blew through Pegasus's hair, which he had released from the ponytail now that he was back to himself. Pegasus had already been weary and discouraged, but seeing Seto restored to life had seemed to break him the rest of the way.

Croquet felt completely helpless. He had always done whatever he could to help the man on his plans and had been unceasingly loyal, but he knew nothing was ever good enough as long as Cecelia wasn't there. Pegasus tried to go on without her, but when Reshef had offered him real hope again he hadn't been able to resist. Now he seemed more devastated than he had even been after Duelist Kingdom. Croquet hadn't known how Pegasus would ever rally after that, but finally he had, creating new series of Duel Monster cards to keep himself busy. Croquet was deathly afraid that it wouldn't work this time.

"Master Pegasus . . ." he said at last. "We should probably go. . . ."

Pegasus started. "Hmm? . . . Yes, go. . . ." He slowly started to get up. "What have I done, Croquet? I set all this madness in motion by agreeing to help Reshef. . . . I suppose this is my just desserts for engaging in more outrageous behavior. . . . I feel especially horrible I harmed you, more than once."

"It wasn't you, Sir," Croquet insisted. "It was all Reshef. And I'm sure he would have still possessed Mr. Kaiba and Mr. von Schroeder regardless."

"You're probably right," Pegasus mused, "but still. . . ." He sighed. "Ah well. . . . I suppose Solomon Muto was right about what he said. It's not really fair, but then, life isn't fair, is it?" He slid off the hood. "Although you wouldn't know that from looking at _some_ people."

Croquet hesitated. "Will you . . . be alright, Sir?"

"Have I ever really been alright, Croquet?" Pegasus said softly. "I'll get by, as I've always done, but without Cecelia I'm only going through the motions of being alive. Still . . . I suppose it's ungrateful when I have a dear friend such as you."

"You can't help your feelings, Master Pegasus," Croquet said. "But I promise I will always be by your side."

Pegasus smiled. "Thank you, Croquet."

They started to walk around to the car doors. Before they could get inside, a bright light appeared in front of both of them and faded around Shadi. "Maximillion Pegasus," he greeted. "Come with me."

"What? Where?" Pegasus demanded, stunned.

"It is time for you to come with me on a quest," Shadi said.

"Is it dangerous?" Croquet asked.

"Yes, but ultimately rewarding," Shadi said. "You may accompany him, if you wish."

Croquet stepped forward. "I will, if he chooses to go."

Pegasus still looked uncertain and confused. "So soon after I caused so much trouble again?"

"If you are seeking a way to redeem yourself, you will find it," Shadi said. "And perhaps also what you have sought for so very long."

Pegasus rocked back, hardly daring to hope. "Cecelia . . . ?"

Croquet stiffened. "You've given Master Pegasus false hope about his wife before, by giving him the Millennium Eye," he spat, his normally businesslike demeanor fading. "Why are you doing this?!"

"It was fated for Pegasus to have the Millennium Eye," Shadi said. "Had he not lost Cecelia, he would not have found the Eye, nor would he have created Duel Monsters. Those were necessary steps on the way to restoring the Pharaoh to his rightful position. But now it is time that he be allowed his chance to obtain his happiness. Cecelia also wants this; she never wanted to leave him."

"You . . . honestly have the power to bring Cecelia back to me?" Pegasus gasped.

"I am authorized with the power to set things in motion," Shadi said. "Come."

Another flash of light. Pegasus and Croquet vanished along with Shadi.


	20. Epilogue

**Notes: Crystal Rose of Pollux came up with the idea of Johnson's backstory and gave me permission to tinker with it.**

**Epilogue**

Gansley leaned back on the couch, watching his grandchildren. Amber and Charlie were sitting on the floor, watching a rented DVD of _Ralph Breaks the Internet_ on Gansley's large-screen TV. Peter was on the couch with his father, and the rest of the Big Five were scattered throughout the room.

"I talked to Mom today," Peter said. "I'm still not sure she really believes what I'm telling her about you is for real."

"That's not a surprise," Gansley grunted. "I suppose I was such a terrible husband and father in her eyes that nothing can alter those memories." He hesitated. "And as I mentioned, there were a lot of things that not even she knew about."

"I still don't care about the past," Peter said. "I only care about the here and now. And you've been a great dad and grandpa. I hope the others will listen and try coming out to see you too."

"I'd love to see them all," Gansley said. "Hopefully with the Rare Hunters arrested and the Duel Monsters going back to their world, it will be safe here."

"At least for a while," Crump cracked. "We've gotta get Penguin World going!"

"Construction work is going to begin soon," Nesbitt said.

"And we'll all supervise it," Crump said. "It's gonna be great!"

"I hope we'll be able to come out when it's done," Peter said. "I know Amber would like seeing the penguins."

"You're always welcome," Gansley said.

"When it's finally done, we're gonna have a big opening bash!" Crump said. "Maybe I can even get Nightmare Penguin to help us host!"

"Now wouldn't that be a sight," Johnson mused.

"He'd be a big hit!" Crump insisted.

"Yes, but would Pegasus let us use him?" Johnson said.

"Hey, Pegasus created the game, but he didn't create the monsters," Crump retorted. "They can do what they want! Anyway, Pegasus hasn't been heard from since that night when Reshef was sealed off."

"True," Gansley said. "I wonder where he is."

Lector wondered too. The only thing he knew was that he had received a short letter from Pegasus postmarked that night. In it, Pegasus had apologized for what he had said and done under Reshef's control when Lector had come to his hotel room and had told him how much he regretted harming Mokuba in the past. It was a gesture Lector greatly appreciated, although he wondered why Pegasus hadn't told him in person.

"That's weird."

Everyone looked over as Amber spoke. Their movie had reached the part where best friends and video game characters Vanellope and Ralph were discovering that they had different life dreams and Vanellope didn't want to return with Ralph.

"Yeah, I mean, they're not even talking about how they can't go live in other games," Charlie said. "It totally messed up everything when Ralph wandered off in the first movie! His game was almost unplugged for good because everyone in the real world thought it was broken when Ralph wasn't in there!"

Amber nodded. "Those kids that liked playing as Vanellope would notice that she was never popping up as one of the racers they could choose anymore! Especially when she'd probably been there every day before because she was so good at racing!"

Charlie gave an emphatic nod. "They're just forgetting about everything because the writers wanna teach some dumb lesson about friends staying friends even if they're not together!"

Peter looked amused. "Well, it's actually a good lesson, but you two probably have a point that it doesn't fit these characters and their world so well."

Amber's nod was also firm. "I wanna see the first movie again."

"Yeah!" Charlie exclaimed. "The first movie was the best!"

"Alright, we'll watch it," Peter chuckled.

Lector turned back to Nesbitt. "Friends having different life dreams applies to us, oddly enough," he remarked. "I know neither of us ever really wanted to build a penguin sanctuary."

Nesbitt sighed. "No, but it was the project we all mutually agreed to do together."

Lector hesitated. "Do you ever . . . want to leave?"

"Oddly enough, I never have," Nesbitt said. "It started out with me just wanting to stay because I wanted to be with the rest of you . . . and because I didn't think I could find work anywhere else anyway. But now . . . while it's true that best friends don't always have the same dreams, it's also true that sometimes one friend's enthusiasm for something can spread their dream to others. We've all put so much time and effort into this project, and by now I . . . honestly want to see how it turns out. It's my dream now too."

Lector smiled. "That's how I feel as well."

"I think we all do," Johnson spoke up.

Gansley nodded. "Yes."

Crump looked happy. While he would have still wanted his penguin preserve to happen regardless, what he liked the most was knowing that his best friends were onboard with him all the way.

"So does anyone know how those Rare Hunters are faring working in Duke Devlin's store?" Peter asked.

"We saw them there today," Nesbitt said. "They were arguing over where to stack some of the new boxes of merchandise and playing Rock Paper Scissors to decide."

"What?" Peter snarked.

"They're strange, but they're doing fine," Gansley said.

"Yes, I also had the impression they were settling into their new jobs," Lector said.

"In spite of their disagreement, they seemed to like making sure everything was just so," Johnson said.

"And it wasn't a hateful argument or anything," Crump said. "I can tell when there's hate, after growing up with my parents always hating on each other. They were just having a harmless spat, like what usually goes on around here when there's arguing."

"That's . . . good to know," Peter said. "I hope it will continue to work out for them."

"I believe it will," Gansley said.

"And what's the deal with the Duel Monsters?" Peter wondered. "I mean, I haven't seen any here now, but you were acting like yours might be around later." He looked to Crump.

"Well . . . the Pharaoh and Yami Bakura got a portal open, but they can't get it to close back up for some reason," Crump said. "So the Duel Monsters have been passing back and forth!"

"Shadi would probably say it was fated to stay open," Johnson intoned.

"Whatever the case, we've been having a lot of visits from our Duel Monsters lately," Gansley said. "They like going back to their world, but they also like the freedom to come to ours."

"And a couple have mostly been staying around all the time," Crump said. "Kuriboh and Revival Jam really don't wanna go back!"

Peter laughed. "They did seem very affectionate with their owners."

"Not to mention Kuriboh's newfound adoration for Gansley," Johnson said.

"I think that's great," Peter smiled.

Gansley tried to look gruff, but a genuine smile crept through anyway. He really was growing quite fond of that furball.

"And it's a good thing you guys were wrong about the kids' Duel Monsters attacking you," Crump said to Nesbitt and Johnson.

"As I recall, you were concerned about the possibility as well," Lector said.

"Okay, I was wrong too," Crump retorted. "The kids told them we were okay and they all accepted that."

The group fell silent as the movie continued to play in the background. Lector leaned back, letting his thoughts wander.

"Are you alright?" Nesbitt asked.

Lector started and looked to him. "I am right now," he said honestly.

"Good," Nesbitt gruffly said. "You'd better stay that way."

"It's easy to be alright when nothing horrible is happening," Lector said. "It's far more difficult when I'm witnessing everything going drastically wrong."

"It's not easy for any of us to be alright then," Gansley said. "There are no hollow words I can say that would make everything better at a time like that." He looked into Lector's eyes. "Remember, Lector, I've been where you were. I also know what it is to desperately try to keep everything together only to finally fall apart under the strain."

Lector nodded. "I know. We were all very worried about you when you snapped." He sighed, sadly. "I never wanted anyone to have to worry about me. . . ."

"That just happens when you're cared about," Crump said. "So I guess you could look at it as in one way you do want people to worry about you because you wanna be cared about." He sighed too. "But I know where you're coming from. Being worried about someone isn't fun and you don't wanna put your loved ones through that."

"No, I don't," Lector said.

"Nesbitt does have a point about talking things out when you're growing upset, instead of continuing to bottle it up inside," Gansley said. "But will that stop you from snapping again? I honestly couldn't say. I can't say that I won't snap again myself if I see any of you being harmed."

"Then there really isn't any solution," Lector said.

"I suppose not," Gansley said. "Although you could at least try Nesbitt's suggestions and see if they help you."

"And you could do the same thing," Crump interjected.

"Point taken," Gansley grunted.

xxxx

Seto wasn't surprised when he felt eyes on him and turned to see Mokuba checking on him from the bedroom doorway. He was still recovering and had been having a nap, something he hadn't needed to do in years. Part of him felt silly to need it now, and yet he knew he did, so for once he had just given in.

"I'm alright, Mokuba," he said.

"I know . . ." Mokuba opened the door more and slipped inside. "But it's still so incredible to me that you are. And . . ." He bit his lip. "It was so awful to see you lying there after you sealed Reshef away. . . . Sometimes I . . . I have to keep letting myself know that you're alive. . . ."

"I was really dead?" Seto hadn't asked before, although Joey had certainly been telling him about it. But Joey could have been mistaken, and Seto had really wanted to believe he was. Mokuba, however, would know the truth.

"Yeah. . . ." Mokuba hesitated, then climbed up on the bed next to him. "It was a nightmare. Only it wasn't the kind you could wake up from. . . ."

". . . I'm sorry, kid." Seto was, too. It sickened him to think of Mokuba having to see him like that.

"I never want to go through something like that again," Mokuba said. "Not with you, and not with Marik or Lector or anyone else I love either. . . ." He blinked back forming tears.

"And I hope you'll never have to," Seto said.

Mokuba wasn't sure he could believe it wouldn't happen again, but he smiled a bit anyway and just relaxed to enjoy being with his brother.

Seto put an arm around him, but was startled a moment later by the dinging of the phone. With his other hand he pulled it off the nightstand and looked at the incoming message.

_Hi, Kaiba. I just wanted to check on you and see how you're doing. Is everything alright?_

It still seemed strange to see Téa that concerned about him; Seto partially thought he would never fully get used to it. But regardless, he found he liked it. It was nice.

_I'm fine._

It was a short and typical response from him. He could imagine Téa staring at it in exasperation before shaking her head and typing that she hoped he really meant that. He paused, pondering, and quickly added,

_I mean it._

That netted the reply,

_You'd better!_

Mokuba peeked over Seto's shoulder. "Is that Téa?" he asked.

"Yeah," Seto said.

"We should have her over for dinner when you're feeling even better, Seto," Mokuba suggested.

Seto considered that and thoughtfully nodded. "We'll do that," he said.

xxxx

Lumis sighed in exhaustion and slumped over a box. Duke had finally showed up and ordered them to stop playing Rock Paper Scissors and to just make a decision, and at last all the merchandise had been placed around on the shelves. Lumis had done all of the heavy lifting, since Umbra was still recovering, but Umbra had helped wherever he could just use one hand.

"This going straight is exhausting," Lumis groaned. "No one's wanted to duel yet."

"Maybe soon," Umbra said. He sank back against the wall.

Lumis rose up and looked to him. "Surely you don't like this."

"I can't say I think a lot of it yet," Umbra agreed. "But at least Mr. Devlin is a better boss than anyone we worked under in the Rare Hunters."

"That's certainly true," Lumis said. "But in any case, I'm dreading testifying against the Rare Hunter organization. Suppose Bandit Keith gets out of prison. He'll come after us for revenge!"

Umbra sighed. "Let's worry about that later. We don't have a lot of choice in the matter."

"I know," Lumis frowned.

"Hey, you two."

They looked up with a start. Yugi had slipped in without them realizing and was standing in front of them with a friendly smile.

"Hello," Umbra greeted.

"How's working for Duke going for you?" Yugi asked.

"Well . . ." Lumis looked at all the empty boxes.

"You've been busy," Yugi commented. "How about a duel?" He held up his deck.

That perked them both up. "You're on," Umbra said.

"But no giving up rare cards," Yugi added.

"We know," Lumis said. "So are you going to duel both of us by yourself or . . . ?"

"I'll duel with him," Atem said, walking up to Yugi's side.

"Yeah!" Yugi beamed. "It'll be awesome!"

Lumis and Umbra both stared in surprise, but quickly warmed to this idea. "This will be an incredible tag team duel," Umbra said.

"And I'll televise the match, if you don't mind," Duke said, also suddenly appearing. "People are always interested in what the King of Games is doing. This will be a lot of good publicity for the store. And maybe also for you guys, if you play a good game." He looked to Lumis and Umbra.

"Oh, we'll give you a show to remember," Lumis promised.

xxxx

The Big Five were still relaxing in Gansley's living room, idly watching the endless credits of the movie the children had just finished. The monotony was interrupted by a mid-credits scene of havoc being innocently wreaked in a casual kids' game. Everyone in the room jumped at the loud popping sound after a rabbit had been fed too many pancakes.

"That was really creepy," Amber said, making a face.

"That was really sick," Crump said, but he turned away to hide his smirk. He still had a sadistic streak and he was amused by the dark humor.

"It was demented," Nesbitt flatly grunted, and meant it.

No one countered him.

"Oh, by the way, Crump, did you finish looking over those legal documents I showed you about the authorization we need to take on the penguins?" Johnson asked.

"Yeah, I did," Crump said. He set the folder on the coffee table. "I'll sign them now." He reached into his pocket and pulled out several pieces of paper along with a pen. Rolling his eyes a bit, he removed what looked like a piece of fake money from under the pen cap and quickly signed the documents.

"What is that?" Nesbitt wondered, picking up the fake money.

"I dunno," Crump said. "Some guy handed it out to me as I was checking out the site we picked for Penguin World. I just stuffed it in my pocket and forgot about it until now."

Nesbitt unfolded it and glanced over it. "It's some kind of religious tract."

"On a piece of fake money?!" Crump said in disbelief.

"Well, at least it's a unique approach," Johnson shrugged.

Peter gave the money a thoughtful look. "Hey, Dad?" he asked. "Just curious, but I remember when I was a kid, you were okay with Mom teaching us about God and stuff, but you never wanted to join in yourself. You always said you were too busy. Do you still feel that way about it?"

Gansley looked to him in a bit of surprise. "Back then I was fairly agnostic and didn't particularly care one way or the other. By now I know God is real. . . . It's a long story. But I still doubt I'd be much good at teaching children or anyone else anything deeply religious."

"Well . . ." Peter smiled. "Mom will be really happy to hear that."

"So were your grandparents," Gansley mused. "I was raised religious but fell away."

"Actually, we all know God is real now, because of the same experience Gansley had," Crump said. "Yeah, it is a pretty long story."

"You're definitely getting me intrigued," Peter said. "What could have affected all of you at the same time?"

Gansley glanced to the children. They were occupied with getting _Wreck-It Ralph_ out of Amber's backpack and loading it in the DVD player, but he wasn't sure he trusted that they would focus solely on the film. "It . . . might be upsetting to the children," he said quietly.

"Because you see, most of us died." Johnson pretty much whispered in Peter's ear.

Peter went stiff. "I see. You're right, it might be better to talk about that away from the kids."

Deciding to shift away from that awkward part of the subject, Crump said, "I've got no idea what it would be like to be brought up in a religious environment. My parents were never around and never cared about teaching me much of anything, religious or secular or what have you."

"That's terrible," Peter frowned.

"Yeah, it was no picnic," Crump said. "Being around these guys is the first time I found out what it's like to be with a decent family." He tilted his head to the side. ". . . You know, I kind of know what it was like for Gansley, and Lector, and Nesbitt, but I don't think any of us know about your family, Johnson."

Johnson looked away. "I . . . I've never talked about it. . . ."

"And you don't have to," Lector interjected.

Johnson sighed. "If anyone deserves to know, it's all of you.

"They were good people, but when I was younger and stupid, I felt they had foolish small town values and I was interested in the big city. They annoyed me, so I left to find my calling and I never looked back. I don't know if I could ever face them again. I can't imagine they would want to see me after how I hurt them . . . or how I turned my back on everything I was taught but didn't believe in. . . ."

The others regarded him in surprise. "You never even told me," Gansley said.

"Especially not you, or Lector." Johnson turned back. "Your families had left you. How could I admit that I did that to mine?" He sighed. "I was afraid you'd think I'm a horrible person."

"After everything we've all done?" Nesbitt growled.

Lector nodded. "It was so long ago, Johnson, and we're all different now. You sound like you regret what you did."

"I do." Johnson sighed. "I've wanted to reach out to them again for a long time, but . . . I never have the courage. Seeing how happy Gansley is now, though, it makes me want to try."

"You should," Gansley said quietly. "You might be pleasantly surprised."

"Do they live around here?" Crump wondered. "I thought we were all locals from birth except Lector."

"They're nearby," Johnson agreed. "And yet it seems like it might as well be the opposite coast."

". . . If you want support when you contact them, we'll be here for you," Nesbitt said.

"Yeah, you could introduce us to them!" Crump said. "Maybe they'd be like Gansley's parents and be thrilled for instant family members!"

Johnson finally smiled a bit. "Maybe I'll do that."

Amber and Charlie cheering brought their attention up. The kids were enjoying the scene in _Wreck-It Ralph_ where Ralph and Vanellope were first starting to bond as friends by making her kart.

"This movie is the best!" Amber exclaimed.

"It's funnier too," Charlie smirked.

"The second movie was pretty funny, but this one has a better ending," Amber said sagely.

Gansley had to smile a bit. He and the rest of the Big Five all had so many memories of bonding and growing to be friends. Their friendships grew and changed, but were always strong through whatever happened.

They always would be.


End file.
